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Jansen DTSL, de Beijer MTA, Luijten RJ, Kwappenberg K, Wiekmeijer AS, Kessler AL, Pieterman RFA, Bouzid R, Krebber WJ, de Man RA, Melief CJM, Buschow SI. Induction of broad multifunctional CD8+ and CD4+ T cells by hepatitis B virus antigen-based synthetic long peptides ex vivo. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1163118. [PMID: 37781393 PMCID: PMC10534072 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1163118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2023] [Accepted: 08/18/2023] [Indexed: 10/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Therapeutic vaccination based on synthetic long peptides (SLP®) containing both CD4+ and CD8+ T cell epitopes is a promising treatment strategy for chronic hepatitis B infection (cHBV). Methods We designed SLPs for three HBV proteins, HBcAg and the non-secreted proteins polymerase and X, and investigated their ability to induce T cell responses ex vivo. A set of 17 SLPs was constructed based on viral protein conservation, functionality, predicted and validated binders for prevalent human leukocyte antigen (HLA) supertypes, validated HLA I epitopes, and chemical producibility. Results All 17 SLPs were capable of inducing interferon gamma (IFNɣ) production in samples from four or more donors that had resolved an HBV infection in the past (resolver). Further analysis of the best performing SLPs demonstrated activation of both CD8+ and CD4+ multi-functional T cells in one or more resolver and patient sample(s). When investigating which SLP could activate HBV-specific T cells, the responses could be traced back to different peptides for each patient or resolver. Discussion This indicates that a large population of subjects with different HLA types can be covered by selecting a suitable mix of SLPs for therapeutic vaccine design. In conclusion, we designed a set of SLPs capable of inducing multifunctional CD8+ and CD4+ T cells ex vivo that create important components for a novel therapeutic vaccine to cure cHBV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diahann T. S. L. Jansen
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | - Monique T. A. de Beijer
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | - Robbie J. Luijten
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | | | | | - Amy L. Kessler
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | - Roel F. A. Pieterman
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | - Rachid Bouzid
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | | | - Robert A. de Man
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | | | - Sonja I. Buschow
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands
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Beavis AC, Wee EGT, Akis Yildirim BM, Borthwick N, He B, Hanke T. Combined intranasal and intramuscular parainfluenza 5-, simian adenovirus ChAdOx1- and poxvirus MVA-vectored vaccines induce synergistically HIV-1-specific T cells in the mucosa. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1186478. [PMID: 37529048 PMCID: PMC10390215 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1186478] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 06/15/2023] [Indexed: 08/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction The primary goal of this work is to broaden and enhance the options for induction of protective CD8+ T cells against HIV-1 and respiratory pathogens. Methods We explored the advantages of the parainfluenza virus 5 (PIV5) vector for delivery of pathogen-derived transgenes alone and in combination with the in-human potent regimen of simian adenovirus ChAdOx1 prime-poxvirus MVA boost delivering bi-valent mosaic of HIV-1 conserved regions designated HIVconsvX. Results We showed in BALB/c mice that the PIV5 vector expressing the HIVconsvX immunogens could be readily incorporated with the other two vaccine modalities into a single regimen and that for specific vector combinations, mucosal CD8+ T-cell induction was enhanced synergistically by a combination of the intranasal and intramuscular routes of administration. Discussion Encouraging safety and immunogenicity data from phase 1 human trials of ChAdOx1- and MVA-vectored vaccines for HIV-1, and PIV5-vectored vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 and respiratory syncytial virus pave the way for combining these vectors for HIV-1 and other indications in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashley C. Beavis
- Department of Infectious Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
| | - Edmund G. -T. Wee
- The Jenner Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Belkis M. Akis Yildirim
- The Jenner Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Nicola Borthwick
- The Jenner Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Biao He
- Department of Infectious Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
| | - Tomáš Hanke
- The Jenner Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- Joint Research Center for Human Retrovirus Infection, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan
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3
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Connelley T, Nicastri A, Sheldrake T, Vrettou C, Fisch A, Reynisson B, Buus S, Hill A, Morrison I, Nielsen M, Ternette N. Immunopeptidomic Analysis of BoLA-I and BoLA-DR Presented Peptides from Theileria parva Infected Cells. Vaccines (Basel) 2022; 10:vaccines10111907. [PMID: 36423003 PMCID: PMC9699068 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines10111907] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2022] [Revised: 11/03/2022] [Accepted: 11/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The apicomplexan parasite Theileria parva is the causative agent of East Coast fever, usually a fatal disease for cattle, which is prevalent in large areas of eastern, central, and southern Africa. Protective immunity against T. parva is mediated by CD8+ T cells, with CD4+ T-cells thought to be important in facilitating the full maturation and development of the CD8+ T-cell response. T. parva has a large proteome, with >4000 protein-coding genes, making T-cell antigen identification using conventional screening approaches laborious and expensive. To date, only a limited number of T-cell antigens have been described. Novel approaches for identifying candidate antigens for T. parva are required to replace and/or complement those currently employed. In this study, we report on the use of immunopeptidomics to study the repertoire of T. parva peptides presented by both BoLA-I and BoLA-DR molecules on infected cells. The study reports on peptides identified from the analysis of 13 BoLA-I and 6 BoLA-DR datasets covering a range of different BoLA genotypes. This represents the most comprehensive immunopeptidomic dataset available for any eukaryotic pathogen to date. Examination of the immunopeptidome data suggested the presence of a large number of coprecipitated and non-MHC-binding peptides. As part of the work, a pipeline to curate the datasets to remove these peptides was developed and used to generate a final list of 74 BoLA-I and 15 BoLA-DR-presented peptides. Together, the data demonstrated the utility of immunopeptidomics as a method to identify novel T-cell antigens for T. parva and the importance of careful curation and the application of high-quality immunoinformatics to parse the data generated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy Connelley
- The Roslin Institute, The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Science, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH25 9RG, UK
- Correspondence:
| | - Annalisa Nicastri
- The Jenner Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine, The University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7BN, UK
| | - Tara Sheldrake
- The Roslin Institute, The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Science, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH25 9RG, UK
| | - Christina Vrettou
- The Roslin Institute, The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Science, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH25 9RG, UK
| | - Andressa Fisch
- Ribeirão Preto College of Nursing, University of São Paulo, Av Bandeirantes, Ribeirão Preto 3900, Brazil
| | - Birkir Reynisson
- Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Soren Buus
- Laboratory of Experimental Immunology, Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, DK-2200 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Adrian Hill
- The Jenner Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine, The University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7BN, UK
| | - Ivan Morrison
- The Roslin Institute, The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Science, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH25 9RG, UK
| | - Morten Nielsen
- Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Copenhagen, Denmark
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas, Universidad Nacional de San Martín, San Martín CP1650, Argentina
| | - Nicola Ternette
- The Jenner Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine, The University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7BN, UK
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4
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Zhang H, He C, Jiang F, Cao S, Zhao B, Ding H, Dong T, Han X, Shang H. A longitudinal analysis of immune escapes from HLA-B*13-restricted T-cell responses at early stage of CRF01_AE subtype HIV-1 infection and implications for vaccine design. BMC Immunol 2022; 23:15. [PMID: 35366796 PMCID: PMC8976269 DOI: 10.1186/s12865-022-00491-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2021] [Accepted: 03/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Identifying immunogens which can elicit effective T cell responses against human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is important for developing a T-cell based vaccine. It has been reported that human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-B*13-restricted T-cell responses contributed to HIV control in subtype B' and C infected individuals. However, the kinetics of B*13-restricted T-cell responses, viral evolution within epitopes, and the impact on disease progression in CRF01_AE subtype HIV-1-infected men who have sex with men (MSM) are not known. RESULTS Interferon-γ ELISPOT assays and deep sequencing of viral RNAs were done in 14 early HLA-B*13-positive CRF01_AE subtype HIV-1-infected MSM. We found that responses to RQEILDLWV (Nef106-114, RV9), GQMREPRGSDI (Gag226-236, GI11), GQDQWTYQI (Pol487-498, GI9), and VQNAQGQMV (Gag135-143, VV9) were dominant. A higher relative magnitude of Gag-specific T-cell responses, contributed to viral control, whereas Nef-specific T-cell responses were associated with rapid disease progression. GI11 (Gag) was conserved and strong GI11 (Gag)-specific T-cell responses showed cross-reactivity with a dominant variant, M228I, found in 3/12 patients; GI11 (Gag)-specific T-cell responses were positively associated with CD4 T-cell counts (R = 0.716, P = 0.046). Interestingly, the GI9 (Pol) epitope was also conserved, but GI9 (Pol)-specific T-cell responses did not influence disease progression (P > 0.05), while a D490G variant identified in one patient did not affect CD4 T-cell counts. All the other epitopes studied [VV9 (Gag), RQYDQILIEI (Pol113-122, RI10), HQSLSPRTL (Gag144-152, HL9), and RQANFLGRL (Gag429-437, RL9)] developed escape mutations within 1 year of infection, which may have contributed to overall disease progression. Intriguingly, we found early RV9 (Nef)-specific T-cell responses were associated with rapid disease progression, likely due to escape mutations. CONCLUSIONS Our study strongly suggested the inclusion of GI11 (Gag) and exclusion of RV9 (Nef) for T-cell-based vaccine design for B*13-positive CRF01_AE subtype HIV-1-infected MSM and high-risk individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui Zhang
- grid.412636.40000 0004 1757 9485NHC Key Laboratory of AIDS Immunology (China Medical University), National Clinical Research Center for Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, 155 Nanjing North Street, Heping District, Shenyang, 110001 Liaoning Province China ,Key Laboratory of AIDS Immunology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Shenyang, 110001 China ,Key Laboratory of AIDS Immunology of Liaoning Province, Shenyang, 110001 China ,grid.13402.340000 0004 1759 700XCollaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, 79 Qingchun Street, Hangzhou, 310003 China
| | - Chuan He
- grid.412636.40000 0004 1757 9485NHC Key Laboratory of AIDS Immunology (China Medical University), National Clinical Research Center for Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, 155 Nanjing North Street, Heping District, Shenyang, 110001 Liaoning Province China ,Key Laboratory of AIDS Immunology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Shenyang, 110001 China ,Key Laboratory of AIDS Immunology of Liaoning Province, Shenyang, 110001 China ,grid.13402.340000 0004 1759 700XCollaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, 79 Qingchun Street, Hangzhou, 310003 China ,grid.412636.40000 0004 1757 9485Department of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, 110001 China
| | - Fanming Jiang
- grid.412636.40000 0004 1757 9485NHC Key Laboratory of AIDS Immunology (China Medical University), National Clinical Research Center for Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, 155 Nanjing North Street, Heping District, Shenyang, 110001 Liaoning Province China ,Key Laboratory of AIDS Immunology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Shenyang, 110001 China ,Key Laboratory of AIDS Immunology of Liaoning Province, Shenyang, 110001 China ,grid.13402.340000 0004 1759 700XCollaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, 79 Qingchun Street, Hangzhou, 310003 China ,grid.412636.40000 0004 1757 9485Department of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, 110001 China
| | - Shuang Cao
- grid.412636.40000 0004 1757 9485NHC Key Laboratory of AIDS Immunology (China Medical University), National Clinical Research Center for Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, 155 Nanjing North Street, Heping District, Shenyang, 110001 Liaoning Province China ,Key Laboratory of AIDS Immunology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Shenyang, 110001 China ,Key Laboratory of AIDS Immunology of Liaoning Province, Shenyang, 110001 China ,grid.13402.340000 0004 1759 700XCollaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, 79 Qingchun Street, Hangzhou, 310003 China ,grid.412449.e0000 0000 9678 1884Department of Laboratory Medicine, China Medical University Shengjing Hospital Nanhu Branch, Shenyang, 110001 China
| | - Bin Zhao
- grid.412636.40000 0004 1757 9485NHC Key Laboratory of AIDS Immunology (China Medical University), National Clinical Research Center for Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, 155 Nanjing North Street, Heping District, Shenyang, 110001 Liaoning Province China ,Key Laboratory of AIDS Immunology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Shenyang, 110001 China ,Key Laboratory of AIDS Immunology of Liaoning Province, Shenyang, 110001 China ,grid.13402.340000 0004 1759 700XCollaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, 79 Qingchun Street, Hangzhou, 310003 China
| | - Haibo Ding
- grid.412636.40000 0004 1757 9485NHC Key Laboratory of AIDS Immunology (China Medical University), National Clinical Research Center for Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, 155 Nanjing North Street, Heping District, Shenyang, 110001 Liaoning Province China ,Key Laboratory of AIDS Immunology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Shenyang, 110001 China ,Key Laboratory of AIDS Immunology of Liaoning Province, Shenyang, 110001 China ,grid.13402.340000 0004 1759 700XCollaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, 79 Qingchun Street, Hangzhou, 310003 China
| | - Tao Dong
- grid.4991.50000 0004 1936 8948Nuffield Department of Medicine, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Oxford Institute, Oxford University, Oxford, UK ,grid.4991.50000 0004 1936 8948Medical Research Council Human Immunology Unit, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford University, Oxford, UK
| | - Xiaoxu Han
- grid.412636.40000 0004 1757 9485NHC Key Laboratory of AIDS Immunology (China Medical University), National Clinical Research Center for Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, 155 Nanjing North Street, Heping District, Shenyang, 110001 Liaoning Province China ,Key Laboratory of AIDS Immunology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Shenyang, 110001 China ,Key Laboratory of AIDS Immunology of Liaoning Province, Shenyang, 110001 China ,grid.13402.340000 0004 1759 700XCollaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, 79 Qingchun Street, Hangzhou, 310003 China
| | - Hong Shang
- grid.412636.40000 0004 1757 9485NHC Key Laboratory of AIDS Immunology (China Medical University), National Clinical Research Center for Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, 155 Nanjing North Street, Heping District, Shenyang, 110001 Liaoning Province China ,Key Laboratory of AIDS Immunology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Shenyang, 110001 China ,Key Laboratory of AIDS Immunology of Liaoning Province, Shenyang, 110001 China ,grid.13402.340000 0004 1759 700XCollaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, 79 Qingchun Street, Hangzhou, 310003 China
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5
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Li M, Garforth SJ, O’Connor KE, Su H, Lee DM, Celikgil A, Chaparro RJ, Seidel RD, Jones RB, Arav-Boger R, Almo SC, Goldstein H. T cell receptor-targeted immunotherapeutics drive selective in vivo HIV- and CMV-specific T cell expansion in humanized mice. J Clin Invest 2021; 131:e141051. [PMID: 34673568 PMCID: PMC8631598 DOI: 10.1172/jci141051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2020] [Accepted: 10/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
To delineate the in vivo role of different costimulatory signals in activating and expanding highly functional virus-specific cytotoxic CD8+ T cells, we designed synTacs, infusible biologics that recapitulate antigen-specific T cell activation signals delivered by antigen-presenting cells. We constructed synTacs consisting of dimeric Fc-domain scaffolds linking CD28- or 4-1BB-specific ligands to HLA-A2 MHC molecules covalently tethered to HIV- or CMV-derived peptides. Treatment of HIV-infected donor PBMCs with synTacs bearing HIV- or CMV-derived peptides induced vigorous and selective ex vivo expansion of highly functional HIV- and/or CMV-specific CD8+ T cells, respectively, with potent antiviral activities. Intravenous injection of HIV- or CMV-specific synTacs into immunodeficient mice intrasplenically engrafted with donor PBMCs markedly and selectively expanded HIV-specific (32-fold) or CMV-specific (46-fold) human CD8+ T cells populating their spleens. Notably, these expanded HIV- or CMV-specific CD8+ T cells directed potent in vivo suppression of HIV or CMV infections in the humanized mice, providing strong rationale for consideration of synTac-based approaches as a therapeutic strategy to cure HIV and treat CMV and other viral infections. The synTac platform flexibility supports facile delineation of in vivo effects of different costimulatory signals on patient-derived virus-specific CD8+ T cells, enabling optimization of individualized therapies, including HIV cure strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengyan Li
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology
- Department of Pediatrics, and
| | - Scott J. Garforth
- Department of Biochemistry, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, New York, USA
| | | | - Hang Su
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology
| | | | - Alev Celikgil
- Department of Biochemistry, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, New York, USA
| | | | | | - R. Brad Jones
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York, USA
| | - Ravit Arav-Boger
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Diseases, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Steven C. Almo
- Department of Biochemistry, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, New York, USA
| | - Harris Goldstein
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology
- Department of Pediatrics, and
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6
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Wee EG, Moyo N, Hannoun Z, Giorgi EE, Korber B, Hanke T. Effect of epitope variant co-delivery on the depth of CD8 T cell responses induced by HIV-1 conserved mosaic vaccines. Mol Ther Methods Clin Dev 2021; 21:741-753. [PMID: 34169114 PMCID: PMC8187930 DOI: 10.1016/j.omtm.2021.04.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2021] [Accepted: 04/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
To stop the HIV-1 pandemic, vaccines must induce responses capable of controlling vast HIV-1 variants circulating in the population as well as those evolved in each individual following transmission. Numerous strategies have been proposed, of which the most promising include focusing responses on the vulnerable sites of HIV-1 displaying the least entropy among global isolates and using algorithms that maximize vaccine match to circulating HIV-1 variants by vaccine cocktails of optimized complementing sequences. In this study, we investigated CD8 T cell responses induced by a bi-valent mosaic of highly conserved HIVconsvX regions delivered by a combination of simian adenovirus ChAdOx1 and poxvirus MVA. We compared partially and fully mono- and bi-valent prime-boost regimens and their ability to elicit T cells recognizing natural epitope variants using an interferon-γ enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay. We used 11 well-defined CD8 T cell epitopes in two mouse haplotypes and, for each epitope, assessed recognition of the two vaccine forms together with the other most frequent epitope variants in the HIV-1 database. We conclude that for the magnitude and depth of epitope recognition, CD8 T cell responses benefitted in most comparisons from the combined bi-valent mosaic and envisage the main advantage of the bi-valent vaccine during its deployment to diverse populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edmund G. Wee
- The Jenner Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK
| | - Nathifa Moyo
- The Jenner Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK
| | - Zara Hannoun
- The Jenner Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK
| | | | - Bette Korber
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, USA
- New Mexico Consortium, Los Alamos, NM, USA
| | - Tomáš Hanke
- The Jenner Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK
- Joint Research Center for Human Retrovirus Infection, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto 860-0811, Japan
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7
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Kedzierska K, Koutsakos M. The ABC of Major Histocompatibility Complexes and T Cell Receptors in Health and Disease. Viral Immunol 2021; 33:160-178. [PMID: 32286182 PMCID: PMC7185345 DOI: 10.1089/vim.2019.0184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
A seminal discovery of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) restriction in T cell recognition by Peter Doherty and Rolf Zinkernagel has led to 45 years of exciting research on the mechanisms governing peptide MHC (pMHC) recognition by T cell receptors (TCRs) and their importance in health and disease. T cells provide a significant level of protection against viral, bacterial, and parasitic infections, as well as tumors, hence, the generation of protective T cell responses is a primary goal for cell-mediated vaccines and immunotherapies. Understanding the mechanisms underlying generation of optimal high-avidity effector T cell responses, memory development, maintenance, and recall is of major importance for the rational design of preventative and therapeutic vaccines/immunotherapies. In this review, we summarize the lessons learned over the last four decades and outline our current understanding of the basis and consequences of pMHC/TCR interactions on T cell development and function, and TCR diversity and composition, driving better clinical outcomes and prevention of viral escape. We also discuss the current models of T cell memory formation and determinants of immunodominant T cell responses in animal models and humans. As TCR composition and diversity can affect both the protective capacity of T cells and protection against viral escape, defining the spectrum of TCR selection has implications for improving the functional efficacy of effector T cell responsiveness and memory formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine Kedzierska
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Marios Koutsakos
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
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8
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Ahmed SF, Quadeer AA, Barton JP, McKay MR. Cross-serotypically conserved epitope recommendations for a universal T cell-based dengue vaccine. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2020; 14:e0008676. [PMID: 32956362 PMCID: PMC7529213 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008676] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2019] [Revised: 10/01/2020] [Accepted: 08/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Dengue virus (DENV)-associated disease is a growing threat to public health across the globe. Co-circulating as four different serotypes, DENV poses a unique challenge for vaccine design as immunity to one serotype predisposes a person to severe and potentially lethal disease upon infection from other serotypes. Recent experimental studies suggest that an effective vaccine against DENV should elicit a strong T cell response against all serotypes, which could be achieved by directing T cell responses toward cross-serotypically conserved epitopes while avoiding serotype-specific ones. Here, we used experimentally-determined DENV T cell epitopes and patient-derived DENV sequences to assess the cross-serotypic variability of the epitopes. We reveal a distinct near-binary pattern of epitope conservation across serotypes for a large number of DENV epitopes. Based on the conservation profile, we identify a set of 55 epitopes that are highly conserved in at least 3 serotypes. Most of the highly conserved epitopes lie in functionally important regions of DENV non-structural proteins. By considering the global distribution of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles associated with these DENV epitopes, we identify a potentially robust subset of HLA class I and class II restricted epitopes that can serve as targets for a universal T cell-based vaccine against DENV while covering ~99% of the global population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Syed Faraz Ahmed
- Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China
| | - Ahmed A. Quadeer
- Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China
| | - John P. Barton
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Riverside, California, United States of America
| | - Matthew R. McKay
- Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China
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9
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Donnison T, von Delft A, Brown A, Swadling L, Hutchings C, Hanke T, Chinnakannan S, Barnes E. Viral vectored hepatitis C virus vaccines generate pan-genotypic T cell responses to conserved subdominant epitopes. Vaccine 2020; 38:5036-5048. [PMID: 32532545 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2020.05.042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2019] [Revised: 03/11/2020] [Accepted: 05/15/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Viral genetic variability presents a major challenge to the development of a prophylactic hepatitis C virus (HCV) vaccine. A promising HCV vaccine using chimpanzee adenoviral vectors (ChAd) encoding a genotype (gt) 1b non-structural protein (ChAd-Gt1b-NS) generated high magnitude T cell responses. However, these T cells showed reduced cross-recognition of dominant epitope variants and the vaccine has recently been shown to be ineffective at preventing chronic HCV. To address the challenge of viral diversity, we developed ChAd vaccines encoding HCV genomic sequences that are conserved between all major HCV genotypes and adjuvanted by truncated shark invariant chain (sIitr). METHODS Age-matched female mice were immunised intramuscularly with ChAd (108 infectious units) encoding gt-1 and -3 (ChAd-Gt1/3) or gt-1 to -6 (ChAd-Gt1-6) conserved segments spanning the HCV proteome, or gt-1b (ChAd-Gt1b-NS control), with immunogenicity assessed 14-days post-vaccination. RESULTS Conserved segment vaccines, ChAd-Gt1/3 and ChAd-Gt1-6, generated high-magnitude, broad, and functional CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses. Compared to the ChAd-Gt1b-NS vaccine, these vaccines generated significantly greater responses against conserved non-gt-1 antigens, including conserved subdominant epitopes that were not targeted by ChAd-Gt1b-NS. Epitopes targeted by the conserved segment HCV vaccine induced T cells, displayed 96.6% mean sequence homology between all HCV subtypes (100% sequence homology for the majority of genotype-1, -2, -4 sequences and 94% sequence homology for gt-3, -6, -7, and -8) in contrast to 85.1% mean sequence homology for epitopes targeted by ChAd-Gt1b-NS induced T cells. The addition of truncated shark invariant chain (sIitr) increased the magnitude, breadth, and cross-reactivity of the T cell response. CONCLUSIONS We have demonstrated that genetically adjuvanted ChAd vectored HCV T cell vaccines encoding genetic sequences conserved between genotypes are immunogenic, activating T cells that target subdominant conserved HCV epitopes. These pre-clinical studies support the use of conserved segment HCV T cell vaccines in human clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy Donnison
- Peter Medawar Building for Pathogen Research, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, OX1 3SY, United Kingdom
| | - Annette von Delft
- Peter Medawar Building for Pathogen Research, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, OX1 3SY, United Kingdom
| | - Anthony Brown
- Peter Medawar Building for Pathogen Research, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, OX1 3SY, United Kingdom
| | - Leo Swadling
- Peter Medawar Building for Pathogen Research, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, OX1 3SY, United Kingdom
| | - Claire Hutchings
- Peter Medawar Building for Pathogen Research, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, OX1 3SY, United Kingdom
| | - Tomáš Hanke
- Jenner Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, OX3 7DQ, United Kingdom; Joint Research Center for Human Retrovirus Infection, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan
| | - Senthil Chinnakannan
- Peter Medawar Building for Pathogen Research, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, OX1 3SY, United Kingdom
| | - Eleanor Barnes
- Peter Medawar Building for Pathogen Research, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, OX1 3SY, United Kingdom; Jenner Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, OX3 7DQ, United Kingdom.
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10
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Gallinaro A, Borghi M, Pirillo MF, Cecchetti S, Bona R, Canitano A, Michelini Z, Di Virgilio A, Olvera A, Brander C, Negri D, Cara A. Development and Preclinical Evaluation of an Integrase Defective Lentiviral Vector Vaccine Expressing the HIVACAT T Cell Immunogen in Mice. Mol Ther Methods Clin Dev 2020; 17:418-428. [PMID: 32154327 PMCID: PMC7056611 DOI: 10.1016/j.omtm.2020.01.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2020] [Accepted: 01/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Cellular immune responses play a fundamental role in controlling viral replication and AIDS progression in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected subjects and in simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-infected macaques. Integrase defective lentiviral vector (IDLV) represents a promising vaccine candidate, inducing functional and durable immune responses in mice and non-human primates. Here, we designed HIV- and SIV-based IDLVs to express the HIVACAT T cell immunogen (HTI), a mosaic antigen designed to cover vulnerable sites in HIV-1 Gag, Pol, Vif, and Nef. We observed that HTI expression during lentiviral vector production interfered profoundly with IDLV particles release because of sequestration of both HIV- and SIV-Gag proteins in the cytoplasm of the vector-producing cells. However, modifications in IDLV design and vector production procedures greatly improved recovery of both HIV- and SIV-based IDLV-HTI. Immunization experiments in BALB/c mice showed that both IDLVs elicited HTI-specific T cell responses. However, immunization with HIV-based IDLV elicited also a T cell response toward exogenous HIV proteins in IDLV particles, suggesting that SIV-based IDLV may be a preferable platform to assess the induction of transgene-specific immune responses against rationally designed HIV structural antigens. These data support the further evaluation of IDLV as an effective platform of T cell immunogens for the development of an effective HIV vaccine.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Martina Borghi
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Serena Cecchetti
- Confocal Microscopy Unit NMR, Confocal Microscopy Area Core Facilities, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Roberta Bona
- National Center for Global Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Andrea Canitano
- National Center for Global Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Zuleika Michelini
- National Center for Global Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Antonio Di Virgilio
- Center for Animal Research and Welfare, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Alex Olvera
- Irsicaixa AIDS Research Institute, 08916 Badalona, Catalonia, Spain
- Universitat de Vic-Universitat Central de Catalunya (UVic-UCC), 08500 Vic, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Christian Brander
- Irsicaixa AIDS Research Institute, 08916 Badalona, Catalonia, Spain
- Universitat de Vic-Universitat Central de Catalunya (UVic-UCC), 08500 Vic, Barcelona, Spain
- ICREA, Pg. Lluís Companys 23, 08010 Barcelona, Spain
- AELIX Therapeutics, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Donatella Negri
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Andrea Cara
- National Center for Global Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
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11
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Lin TH, Chen HW, Hsiao YJ, Yan JY, Chiang CY, Chen MY, Hu HM, Wu SH, Pan CH. Immunodomination of Serotype-Specific CD4+ T-Cell Epitopes Contributed to the Biased Immune Responses Induced by a Tetravalent Measles-Vectored Dengue Vaccine. Front Immunol 2020; 11:546. [PMID: 32300346 PMCID: PMC7145397 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.00546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2019] [Accepted: 03/10/2020] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Dengue is an emerging mosquito-borne disease, and the use of prophylactic vaccines is still limited. We previously developed a tetravalent dengue vaccine (rMV-TDV) by a recombinant measles virus (MV) vector expressing envelope protein domain III (ED3). In this study, we used dengue-susceptible AG129 mice to evaluate the protective and/or pathogenic immune responses induced by rMV-TDV. Consistent with the previous study, rMV-TDV-immunized mice developed a significant neutralizing antibody response against all serotypes of DENV, as well as a significant IFN-γ response biased to DENV-3, compared to the vector controls. We further demonstrated that this DENV-3-specific IFN-γ response was dominated by one CD4+ T-cell epitope located in E349-363. After DENV-2 challenge, rMV-TDV-immunized mice showed a significantly lower viremia and no inflammatory cytokine increase compared to the vector controls, which had an ~100 times higher viremia and a significant increase in IFN-γ and TNF-α. As a correlate of protection, a robust memory IFN-γ response specific to DENV-2 was boosted in rMV-TDV-immunized mice after challenge. This result suggested that pre-existing DENV-3-dominated T-cell responses did not cross-react, but a DENV-2-specific IFN-γ response, which was undetectable during immunization, was recalled. Interestingly, this recalled T-cell response recognized the epitope in the same position as the E349-363 but in the DENV-2 serotype. This result suggested that immunodomination occurred in the CD4+ T-cell epitopes between dengue serotypes after rMV-TDV vaccination and resulted in a DENV-3-dominated CD4+ T-cell response. Although the significant increase in IgG against both DENV-2 and -3 suggested that cross-reactive antibody responses were boosted, the increased neutralizing antibodies and IgG avidity still remained DENV-2 specific, consistent with the serotype-specific T cell response post challenge. Our data reveal that immunodomination caused a biased T-cell response to one of the dengue serotypes after tetravalent dengue vaccination and highlight the roles of cross-reactive T cells in dengue protection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tsung-Han Lin
- National Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan
| | - Hsin-Wei Chen
- National Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan.,Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.,Graduate Institute of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Ju Hsiao
- National Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan
| | - Jia-Ying Yan
- National Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan
| | - Chen-Yi Chiang
- National Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan
| | - Mei-Yu Chen
- National Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan
| | - Hui-Mei Hu
- National Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan
| | - Szu-Hsien Wu
- National Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan
| | - Chien-Hsiung Pan
- National Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan.,Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.,Graduate Institute of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
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12
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Dong B, Borjabad A, Kelschenbach J, Chao W, Volsky DJ, Potash MJ. Prevention and treatment of HIV infection and cognitive disease in mice by innate immune responses. Brain Behav Immun Health 2020; 3:100054. [PMID: 32699842 PMCID: PMC7375446 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbih.2020.100054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2020] [Accepted: 02/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
HIV associated neurocognitive impairment afflicts roughly half of infected individuals on antiretroviral therapy. This disease currently has no treatment. We have previously shown that type I interferon is induced by and partially controls infection and neuropathogenesis in mice infected by chimeric HIV, EcoHIV. Here we investigate the intentional ligation of the pattern recognition receptor Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) by polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (poly I:C) for its ability to prevent or control infection and associated cognitive disease in EcoHIV infected mice. We tested topical, injection, and intranasal application of poly I:C in mice during primary infection through injection or sexual transmission or in established infection. We measured different forms of HIV DNA and RNA in tissues by real-time PCR and the development of HIV-associated cognitive disease by the radial arm water maze behavioral test. Our results indicate that poly I:C blocks primary EcoHIV infection of mice prior to reverse transcription and reduces established EcoHIV infection. Prevention or control of viral replication by poly I:C prevents or reverses HIV associated cognitive disease in mice. These findings indicate that poly I:C or other innate immune agonists may be useful in control of HIV cognitive disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Baojun Dong
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Alejandra Borjabad
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jennifer Kelschenbach
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Wei Chao
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - David J. Volsky
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Mary Jane Potash
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
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13
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Hanke T. Aiming for protective T-cell responses: a focus on the first generation conserved-region HIVconsv vaccines in preventive and therapeutic clinical trials. Expert Rev Vaccines 2019; 18:1029-1041. [PMID: 31613649 DOI: 10.1080/14760584.2019.1675518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Introduction: Despite life-saving antiretroviral drugs, an effective HIV-1 vaccine is the best solution and likely a necessary component of any strategy for halting the AIDS epidemic. The currently prevailing aim is to pursue antibody-mediated vaccine protection. With ample evidence for the ability of T cells to control HIV-1 replication, their protective potential should be also harnessed by vaccination. The challenge is to elicit not just any, but protective T cells.Areas covered: This article reviews the clinical experience with the first-generation conserved-region immunogen HIVconsv delivered by combinations of plasmid DNA, simian adenovirus, and poxvirus MVA. The aim of our strategy is to induce strong and broad T cells targeting functionally important parts of HIV-1 proteins common to global variants. These vaccines were tested in eight phase 1/2 preventive and therapeutic clinical trials in Europe and Africa, and induced high frequencies of broadly specific CD8+ T cells capable of in vitro inhibition of four major HIV-1 clades A, B, C and D, and in combination with latency-reactivating agent provided a signal of drug-free virological control in early treated patients.Expert opinion: A number of critical T-cell traits have to come together at the same time to achieve control over HIV-1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomáš Hanke
- The Jenner Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.,International Research Center for Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan
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14
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Immunization of BLT Humanized Mice Redirects T Cell Responses to Gag and Reduces Acute HIV-1 Viremia. J Virol 2019; 93:JVI.00814-19. [PMID: 31375576 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.00814-19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2019] [Accepted: 07/24/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
BLT (bone marrow-liver-thymus) humanized mice, which reconstitute a functional human immune system, develop prototypic human virus-specific CD8+ T cell responses following infection with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). We explored the utility of the BLT model for HIV-1 vaccine development by immunizing BLT mice against the conserved viral Gag protein, utilizing a rapid prime-boost protocol of poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid microparticles and a replication-defective herpes simplex virus (HSV) recombinant vector. After HIV-1 challenge, the mice developed broad, proteome-wide gamma interferon-positive (IFN-γ+) T cell responses against HIV-1 that reached magnitudes equivalent to what is observed in HIV-1-infected individuals. The functionality of these responses was underscored by the consistent emergence of escape mutations in multiple CD8+ T cell epitopes during the course of infection. Although prechallenge vaccine-induced responses were largely undetectable, the Gag immunization increased both the magnitude and the kinetics of anamnestic Gag-specific T cell responses following HIV-1 infection, and the magnitude of these postchallenge Gag-specific responses was inversely correlated with acute HIV-1 viremia. Indeed, Gag immunization was associated with a modest but significant 0.5-log reduction in HIV-1 viral load when analyzed across four experimental groups of BLT mice. Notably, the HSV vector induced elevated plasma concentrations of polarizing cytokines and chemotactic factors, including interleukin-12p70 (IL-12p70) and MIP-1α, which were positively correlated with the magnitude of Gag-specific responses. Overall, these results support the ability of BLT mice to recapitulate human pathogen-specific T cell responses and to respond to immunization; however, additional improvements to the model are required to develop a robust system for testing HIV-1 vaccine efficacy.IMPORTANCE Advances in the development of humanized mice have raised the possibility of a small-animal model for preclinical testing of an HIV-1 vaccine. Here, we describe the capacity of BLT humanized mice to mount broadly directed HIV-1-specific human T cell responses that are functionally active, as indicated by the rapid emergence of viral escape mutations. Although immunization of BLT mice with the conserved viral Gag protein did not result in detectable prechallenge responses, it did increase the magnitude and kinetics of postchallenge Gag-specific T cell responses, which was associated with a modest but significant reduction in acute HIV-1 viremia. Additionally, the BLT model revealed immunization-associated increases in the plasma concentrations of immunomodulatory cytokines and chemokines that correlated with more robust T cell responses. These data support the potential utility of the BLT humanized mouse for HIV-1 vaccine development but suggest that additional improvements to the model are warranted.
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15
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Leal L, Guardo AC, Morón-López S, Salgado M, Mothe B, Heirman C, Pannus P, Vanham G, van den Ham HJ, Gruters R, Andeweg A, Van Meirvenne S, Pich J, Arnaiz JA, Gatell JM, Brander C, Thielemans K, Martínez-Picado J, Plana M, García F. Phase I clinical trial of an intranodally administered mRNA-based therapeutic vaccine against HIV-1 infection. AIDS 2018; 32:2533-2545. [PMID: 30289805 PMCID: PMC6221380 DOI: 10.1097/qad.0000000000002026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Objective: The efficacy of therapeutic vaccines against HIV-1 infection has been modest. New inerts to redirect responses to vulnerable sites are urgently needed to improve these results. Design: We performed the first-in-human clinical trial with naked mRNA (iHIVARNA) combining a dendritic cell activation strategy (TriMix:CD40L+CD70+caTLR4 RNA) with a novel HIV immunogen sequences (HTI immunogen). Methods: A dose escalation, phase I clinical trial was performed in 21 chronic HIV-1-infected patients under ART who received three intranodal doses of mRNA (weeks 0, 2 and 4) as follow: TriMix-100 g, TriMix-300 g, TriMix-300 g with HTI-300 g, TriMix-300 g with HTI-600 g, TriMix-300 g with HTI-900 g. Primary end-point was safety and secondary-exploratory end-points were immunogenicity, changes in viral reservoir and transcriptome. Results: Overall, the vaccine was secure and well tolerated. There were 31 grade 1/2 and 1 grade 3 adverse events, mostly unrelated to the vaccination. Patients who received the highest dose showed a moderate increase in T-cell responses spanning HTI sequence at week 8. In addition, the proportion of responders receiving any dose of HTI increased from 31% at w0 to 80% postvaccination. The intervention had no impact on caHIV-DNA levels, however, caHIV-RNA expression and usVL were transiently increased at weeks 5 and 6 in the highest dose of iHIVARNA, and these changes were positively correlated with HIV-1-specific-induced immune responses. Conclusion: This phase I dose-escalating trial showed that iHIVARNA administration was safe and well tolerated, induced moderate HIV-specific T-cell responses and transiently increased different viral replication readouts. These data support further exploration of iHIVARNA in a phase II study. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02413645
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16
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Moyo N, Vogel AB, Buus S, Erbar S, Wee EG, Sahin U, Hanke T. Efficient Induction of T Cells against Conserved HIV-1 Regions by Mosaic Vaccines Delivered as Self-Amplifying mRNA. MOLECULAR THERAPY-METHODS & CLINICAL DEVELOPMENT 2018; 12:32-46. [PMID: 30547051 PMCID: PMC6258890 DOI: 10.1016/j.omtm.2018.10.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2018] [Accepted: 10/21/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Focusing T cell responses on the most vulnerable parts of HIV-1, the functionally conserved regions of HIV-1 proteins, is likely a key prerequisite for vaccine success. For a T cell vaccine to efficiently control HIV-1 replication, the vaccine-elicited individual CD8+ T cells and as a population have to display a number of critical traits. If any one of these traits is suboptimal, the vaccine is likely to fail. Fine-tuning of individual protective characteristics of T cells will require iterative stepwise improvements in clinical trials. Although the second-generation tHIVconsvX immunogens direct CD8+ T cells to predominantly protective and conserved epitopes, in the present work, we have used formulated self-amplifying mRNA (saRNA) to deliver tHIVconsvX to the immune system. We demonstrated in BALB/c and outbred mice that regimens employing saRNA vaccines induced broadly specific, plurifunctional CD8+ and CD4+ T cells, which displayed structured memory subpopulations and were maintained at relatively high frequencies over at least 22 weeks post-administration. This is one of the first thorough analyses of mRNA vaccine-elicited T cell responses. The combination of tHIVconsvX immunogens and the highly versatile and easily manufacturable saRNA platform may provide a long-awaited opportunity to define and optimize induction of truly protective CD8+ T cell parameters in human volunteers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathifa Moyo
- The Jenner Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK
| | - Annette B Vogel
- Biopharmaceutical New Technologies (BioNTech) Corporation, Mainz 55131, Germany
| | - Søren Buus
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2200, Denmark
| | - Stephanie Erbar
- Biopharmaceutical New Technologies (BioNTech) Corporation, Mainz 55131, Germany
| | - Edmund G Wee
- The Jenner Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK
| | - Ugur Sahin
- Biopharmaceutical New Technologies (BioNTech) Corporation, Mainz 55131, Germany
| | - Tomáš Hanke
- The Jenner Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK.,International Research Center for Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto 860-0811, Japan
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17
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Gutiérrez AH, Rapp-Gabrielson VJ, Terry FE, Loving CL, Moise L, Martin WD, De Groot AS. T-cell epitope content comparison (EpiCC) of swine H1 influenza A virus hemagglutinin. Influenza Other Respir Viruses 2018; 11:531-542. [PMID: 29054116 PMCID: PMC5705686 DOI: 10.1111/irv.12513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/04/2017] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Predicting vaccine efficacy against emerging pathogen strains is a significant problem in human and animal vaccine design. T‐cell epitope cross‐conservation may play an important role in cross‐strain vaccine efficacy. While influenza A virus (IAV) hemagglutination inhibition (HI) antibody titers are widely used to predict protective efficacy of 1 IAV vaccine against new strains, no similar correlate of protection has been identified for T‐cell epitopes. Objective We developed a computational method (EpiCC) that facilitates pairwise comparison of protein sequences based on an immunological property—T‐cell epitope content—rather than sequence identity, and evaluated its ability to classify swine IAV strain relatedness to estimate cross‐protective potential of a vaccine strain for circulating viruses. Methods T‐cell epitope relatedness scores were assessed for 23 IAV HA sequences representing the major H1 swine IAV phylo‐clusters circulating in North American swine and HA sequences in a commercial inactivated vaccine (FluSure XP®). Scores were compared to experimental data from previous efficacy studies. Results Higher EpiCC scores were associated with greater protection by the vaccine against strains for 23 field IAV strain vaccine comparisons. A threshold for EpiCC relatedness associated with full or partial protection in the absence of cross‐reactive HI antibodies was identified. EpiCC scores for field strains for which FluSure protective efficacy is not yet available were also calculated. Conclusion EpiCC thresholds can be evaluated for predictive accuracy of protection in future efficacy studies. EpiCC may also complement HI cross‐reactivity and phylogeny for selection of influenza strains in vaccine development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andres H Gutiérrez
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Institute for Immunology and Informatics, University of Rhode Island, Providence, RI, USA
| | | | | | - Crystal L Loving
- Virus and Prion Diseases Research Unit, NADC, USDA ARS, Ames, IA, USA
| | - Leonard Moise
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Institute for Immunology and Informatics, University of Rhode Island, Providence, RI, USA.,EpiVax Inc., Providence, RI, USA
| | | | - Anne S De Groot
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Institute for Immunology and Informatics, University of Rhode Island, Providence, RI, USA.,EpiVax Inc., Providence, RI, USA
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18
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Gu CJ, Borjabad A, Hadas E, Kelschenbach J, Kim BH, Chao W, Arancio O, Suh J, Polsky B, McMillan J, Edagwa B, Gendelman HE, Potash MJ, Volsky DJ. EcoHIV infection of mice establishes latent viral reservoirs in T cells and active viral reservoirs in macrophages that are sufficient for induction of neurocognitive impairment. PLoS Pathog 2018; 14:e1007061. [PMID: 29879225 PMCID: PMC5991655 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1007061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2017] [Accepted: 04/29/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Suppression of HIV replication by antiretroviral therapy (ART) or host immunity can prevent AIDS but not other HIV-associated conditions including neurocognitive impairment (HIV-NCI). Pathogenesis in HIV-suppressed individuals has been attributed to reservoirs of latent-inducible virus in resting CD4+ T cells. Macrophages are persistently infected with HIV but their role as HIV reservoirs in vivo has not been fully explored. Here we show that infection of conventional mice with chimeric HIV, EcoHIV, reproduces physiological conditions for development of disease in people on ART including immunocompetence, stable suppression of HIV replication, persistence of integrated, replication-competent HIV in T cells and macrophages, and manifestation of learning and memory deficits in behavioral tests, termed here murine HIV-NCI. EcoHIV established latent reservoirs in CD4+ T lymphocytes in chronically-infected mice but could be induced by epigenetic modulators ex vivo and in mice. In contrast, macrophages expressed EcoHIV constitutively in mice for up to 16 months; murine leukemia virus (MLV), the donor of gp80 envelope in EcoHIV, did not infect macrophages. Both EcoHIV and MLV were found in brain tissue of infected mice but only EcoHIV induced NCI. Murine HIV-NCI was prevented by antiretroviral prophylaxis but once established neither persistent EcoHIV infection in mice nor NCI could be reversed by long-acting antiretroviral therapy. EcoHIV-infected, athymic mice were more permissive to virus replication in macrophages than were wild-type mice, suffered cognitive dysfunction, as well as increased numbers of monocytes and macrophages infiltrating the brain. Our results suggest an important role of HIV expressing macrophages in HIV neuropathogenesis in hosts with suppressed HIV replication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chao-Jiang Gu
- Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Alejandra Borjabad
- Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Eran Hadas
- Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Jennifer Kelschenbach
- Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Boe-Hyun Kim
- Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Wei Chao
- Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Ottavio Arancio
- Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Jin Suh
- Department of Medicine, St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center, Paterson, New Jersey, United States of America
| | - Bruce Polsky
- Department of Medicine, NYU Winthrop Hospital, Mineola, New York, United States of America
| | - JoEllyn McMillan
- Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, United States of America
| | - Benson Edagwa
- Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, United States of America
| | - Howard E. Gendelman
- Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, United States of America
| | - Mary Jane Potash
- Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - David J. Volsky
- Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, United States of America
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19
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von Delft A, Donnison TA, Lourenço J, Hutchings C, Mullarkey CE, Brown A, Pybus OG, Klenerman P, Chinnakannan S, Barnes E. The generation of a simian adenoviral vectored HCV vaccine encoding genetically conserved gene segments to target multiple HCV genotypes. Vaccine 2018; 36:313-321. [PMID: 29203182 PMCID: PMC5756538 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2017.10.079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2017] [Revised: 09/29/2017] [Accepted: 10/26/2017] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Hepatitis C virus (HCV) genomic variability is a major challenge to the generation of a prophylactic vaccine. We have previously shown that HCV specific T-cell responses induced by a potent T-cell vaccine encoding a single strain subtype-1b immunogen target epitopes dominant in natural infection. However, corresponding viral regions are highly variable at a population level, with a reduction in T-cell reactivity to these variants. We therefore designed and manufactured second generation simian adenovirus vaccines encoding genomic segments, conserved between viral genotypes and assessed these for immunogenicity. METHODS We developed a computer algorithm to identify HCV genomic regions that were conserved between viral subtypes. Conserved segments below a pre-defined diversity threshold spanning the entire HCV genome were combined to create novel immunogens (1000-1500 amino-acids), covering variation in HCV subtypes 1a and 1b, genotypes 1 and 3, and genotypes 1-6 inclusive. Simian adenoviral vaccine vectors (ChAdOx) encoding HCV conserved immunogens were constructed. Immunogenicity was evaluated in C57BL6 mice using panels of genotype-specific peptide pools in ex-vivo IFN-ϒ ELISpot and intracellular cytokine assays. RESULTS ChAdOx1 conserved segment HCV vaccines primed high-magnitude, broad, cross-reactive T-cell responses; the mean magnitude of total HCV specific T-cell responses was 1174 SFU/106 splenocytes for ChAdOx1-GT1-6 in C57BL6 mice targeting multiple genomic regions, with mean responses of 935, 1474 and 1112 SFU/106 against genotype 1a, 1b and 3a peptide panels, respectively. Functional assays demonstrated IFNg and TNFa production by vaccine-induced CD4 and CD8 T-cells. In silico analysis shows that conserved immunogens contain multiple epitopes, with many described in natural HCV infection, predicting immunogenicity in humans. CONCLUSIONS Simian adenoviral vectored vaccines encoding genetic segments that are conserved between all major HCV genotypes contain multiple T-cell epitopes and are highly immunogenic in pre-clinical models. These studies pave the way for the assessment of multi-genotypic HCV T-cell vaccines in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annette von Delft
- Peter Medawar Building and Translational Gastroenterology Unit, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, UK
| | - Timothy A Donnison
- Peter Medawar Building and Translational Gastroenterology Unit, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, UK
| | | | - Claire Hutchings
- Peter Medawar Building and Translational Gastroenterology Unit, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, UK
| | - Caitlin E Mullarkey
- Peter Medawar Building and Translational Gastroenterology Unit, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, UK
| | - Anthony Brown
- Peter Medawar Building and Translational Gastroenterology Unit, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, UK
| | | | - Paul Klenerman
- Peter Medawar Building and Translational Gastroenterology Unit, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, UK
| | - Senthil Chinnakannan
- Peter Medawar Building and Translational Gastroenterology Unit, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, UK
| | - Eleanor Barnes
- Peter Medawar Building and Translational Gastroenterology Unit, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, UK.
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20
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Moyo N, Borthwick NJ, Wee EG, Capucci S, Crook A, Dorrell L, Hanke T. Long-term follow up of human T-cell responses to conserved HIV-1 regions elicited by DNA/simian adenovirus/MVA vaccine regimens. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0181382. [PMID: 28719652 PMCID: PMC5515449 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0181382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2017] [Accepted: 06/29/2017] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Durability of vaccine-elicited immune responses is one of the key determinants for vaccine success. Our aim is to develop a vaccination strategy against the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), which induces protective and durable CD8+ T-cell responses. The central theorem of our approach is to focus T cells on highly conserved regions of the HIV-1 proteome and this is achieved through the use of the first-generation conserved vaccine immunogen HIVconsv. This immunogen vectored by plasmid DNA, simian adenovirus and poxvirus MVA was tested in healthy, HIV-1-negative adults in UK and induced high magnitudes of HIVconsv-specific plurifunctional CD8+ T cells capable of in vitro HIV-1 inhibition. Here, we assessed the durability of these responses. METHODS Vaccine recipients in trial HIV-CORE 002 were invited to provide a blood sample at 1 and 2 years after vaccination. Their PBMCs were tested in IFN-γ ELISPOT, 25-analyte Luminex, CFSE proliferation and intracellular cytokine staining assays, the last enhanced by HLA-peptide dextramer analysis. RESULTS 12/12 (1 year) and 8/8 (2 years) returning subjects had median (range) of 990 (150-2495) and 763 (70-1745) IFN-γ SFU/106 PBMC specific for HIVconsv, respectively, and recognized 5 (1-6) out of 6 peptide pools at 2 years. Over one-half of the HIVconsv-specific cells expressed at least 3 functions IFN-γ, TNF-α and CD107a, and were capable of proliferation. Among dextramer-reactive cells, naïve, transitional, effector and terminally differentiated memory subsets were similarly represented. CONCLUSIONS First generation HIVconsv vaccine induced human T cells, which were plurifunctional and persisted for at least 2 years. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01151319.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathifa Moyo
- The Jenner Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Nicola J Borthwick
- The Jenner Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Edmund G Wee
- The Jenner Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Silvia Capucci
- The Jenner Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Alison Crook
- The Jenner Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Lucy Dorrell
- The Jenner Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- NDM Research Building, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- Oxford NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Tomáš Hanke
- The Jenner Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- International Research Center for Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan
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21
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Leal L, Lucero C, Gatell JM, Gallart T, Plana M, García F. New challenges in therapeutic vaccines against HIV infection. Expert Rev Vaccines 2017; 16:587-600. [PMID: 28431490 DOI: 10.1080/14760584.2017.1322513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION There is a growing interest in developing curative strategies for HIV infection. Therapeutic vaccines are one of the most promising approaches. We will review the current knowledge and the new challenges in this research field. Areas covered: PubMed and ClinicalTrial.gov databases were searched to review the progress and prospects for clinical development of immunotherapies aimed to cure HIV infection. Dendritic cells (DC)-based vaccines have yielded the best results in the field. However, major immune-virologic barriers may hamper current vaccine strategies. We will focus on some new challenges as the antigen presentation by DCs, CTL escape mutations, B cell follicle sanctuary, host immune environment (inflammation, immune activation, tolerance), latent reservoir and the lack of surrogate markers of response. Finally, we will review the rationale for designing new therapeutic vaccine candidates to be used alone or in combination with other strategies to improve their effectiveness. Expert commentary: In the next future, the combination of DCs targeting candidates, inserts to redirect responses to unmutated parts of the virus, adjuvants to redirect responses to sanctuaries or improve the balance between activation/tolerance (IL-15, anti-PD1 antibodies) and latency reversing agents could be necessary to finally achieve the remission of HIV-1 infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorna Leal
- a Infectious Diseases Unit, HIVACAT, Hospital Clínic, IDIBAPS , University of Barcelona , Barcelona , Spain
| | - Constanza Lucero
- a Infectious Diseases Unit, HIVACAT, Hospital Clínic, IDIBAPS , University of Barcelona , Barcelona , Spain
| | - Josep M Gatell
- a Infectious Diseases Unit, HIVACAT, Hospital Clínic, IDIBAPS , University of Barcelona , Barcelona , Spain
| | - Teresa Gallart
- b Retrovirology and Viral Immunopathology Laboratories, HIVACAT, Hospital Clínic, IDIBAPS , University of Barcelona , Barcelona , Spain
| | - Montserrat Plana
- b Retrovirology and Viral Immunopathology Laboratories, HIVACAT, Hospital Clínic, IDIBAPS , University of Barcelona , Barcelona , Spain
| | - Felipe García
- a Infectious Diseases Unit, HIVACAT, Hospital Clínic, IDIBAPS , University of Barcelona , Barcelona , Spain
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22
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Maru S, Jin G, Schell TD, Lukacher AE. TCR stimulation strength is inversely associated with establishment of functional brain-resident memory CD8 T cells during persistent viral infection. PLoS Pathog 2017; 13:e1006318. [PMID: 28410427 PMCID: PMC5406018 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1006318] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2017] [Revised: 04/26/2017] [Accepted: 03/27/2017] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Establishing functional tissue-resident memory (TRM) cells at sites of infection is a newfound objective of T cell vaccine design. To directly assess the impact of antigen stimulation strength on memory CD8 T cell formation and function during a persistent viral infection, we created a library of mouse polyomavirus (MuPyV) variants with substitutions in a subdominant CD8 T cell epitope that exhibit a broad range of efficiency in stimulating TCR transgenic CD8 T cells. By altering a subdominant epitope in a nonstructural viral protein and monitoring memory differentiation of donor monoclonal CD8 T cells in immunocompetent mice, we circumvented potentially confounding changes in viral infection levels, virus-associated inflammation, size of the immunodominant virus-specific CD8 T cell response, and shifts in TCR affinity that may accompany temporal recruitment of endogenous polyclonal cells. Using this strategy, we found that antigen stimulation strength was inversely associated with the function of memory CD8 T cells during a persistent viral infection. We further show that CD8 TRM cells recruited to the brain following systemic infection with viruses expressing epitopes with suboptimal stimulation strength respond more efficiently to challenge CNS infection with virus expressing cognate antigen. These data demonstrate that the strength of antigenic stimulation during recruitment of CD8 T cells influences the functional integrity of TRM cells in a persistent viral infection. Tissue-resident memory (TRM) cells are a subset of memory T cells that primarily reside in non-lymphoid tissues and serve as sentinels and effectors against secondary infections. TRM cells have been extensively characterized in mucosal barriers, but much less is known about this population in non-barrier sites such as the brain. In this study, we designed a novel strategy to evaluate the impact of T cell stimulation strength on the generation and functionality of memory CD8 T cells in both lymphoid and nonlymphoid tissues. Using a mouse polyomavirus (MuPyV) library expressing variants of a subdominant epitope recognized by TCR transgenic CD8 T cells, we found that systemic infection producing weaker responses during T cell priming was sufficient for recruitment of effector cells to the brain. Furthermore, lower stimulation conferred greater functionality to memory T cells in the spleen and to brain TRM cells. Our findings demonstrate that the strength of antigenic stimulation experienced by a naïve T cell early in infection is a determinant of memory functional integrity during viral persistence in a non-barrier organ.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saumya Maru
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Ge Jin
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Todd D. Schell
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Aron E. Lukacher
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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23
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Mutua G, Farah B, Langat R, Indangasi J, Ogola S, Onsembe B, Kopycinski JT, Hayes P, Borthwick NJ, Ashraf A, Dally L, Barin B, Tillander A, Gilmour J, De Bont J, Crook A, Hannaman D, Cox JH, Anzala O, Fast PE, Reilly M, Chinyenze K, Jaoko W, Hanke T, HIV-CORE 004 study group T. Broad HIV-1 inhibition in vitro by vaccine-elicited CD8(+) T cells in African adults. Mol Ther Methods Clin Dev 2016; 3:16061. [PMID: 27617268 PMCID: PMC5006719 DOI: 10.1038/mtm.2016.61] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2016] [Accepted: 07/22/2016] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
We are developing a pan-clade HIV-1 T-cell vaccine HIVconsv, which could complement Env vaccines for prophylaxis and be a key to HIV cure. Our strategy focuses vaccine-elicited effector T-cells on functionally and structurally conserved regions (not full-length proteins and not only epitopes) of the HIV-1 proteome, which are common to most global variants and which, if mutated, cause a replicative fitness loss. Our first clinical trial in low risk HIV-1-negative adults in Oxford demonstrated the principle that naturally mostly subdominant epitopes, when taken out of the context of full-length proteins/virus and delivered by potent regimens involving combinations of simian adenovirus and poxvirus modified vaccinia virus Ankara, can induce robust CD8(+) T cells of broad specificities and functions capable of inhibiting in vitro HIV-1 replication. Here and for the first time, we tested this strategy in low risk HIV-1-negative adults in Africa. We showed that the vaccines were well tolerated and induced high frequencies of broadly HIVconsv-specific plurifunctional T cells, which inhibited in vitro viruses from four major clades A, B, C, and D. Because sub-Saharan Africa is globally the region most affected by HIV-1/AIDS, trial HIV-CORE 004 represents an important stage in the path toward efficacy evaluation of this highly rational and promising vaccine strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaudensia Mutua
- KAVI-Institute of Clinical Research, University of Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Bashir Farah
- KAVI-Institute of Clinical Research, University of Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Robert Langat
- KAVI-Institute of Clinical Research, University of Nairobi, Kenya
| | | | - Simon Ogola
- KAVI-Institute of Clinical Research, University of Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Brian Onsembe
- KAVI-Institute of Clinical Research, University of Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Jakub T Kopycinski
- Human Immunology Laboratory, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, Imperial College, London, UK
| | - Peter Hayes
- Human Immunology Laboratory, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, Imperial College, London, UK
| | | | - Ambreen Ashraf
- Human Immunology Laboratory, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, Imperial College, London, UK
| | - Len Dally
- Emmes Corporation, Rockville, Maryland, USA
| | - Burc Barin
- Emmes Corporation, Rockville, Maryland, USA
| | | | - Jill Gilmour
- Human Immunology Laboratory, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, Imperial College, London, UK
| | - Jan De Bont
- International AIDS Vaccine Initiative-New York, New York, New York, USA
| | - Alison Crook
- Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Drew Hannaman
- ICHOR Medical Systems, Inc., San Diego, California, USA
| | - Josephine H Cox
- Human Immunology Laboratory, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, Imperial College, London, UK
| | - Omu Anzala
- KAVI-Institute of Clinical Research, University of Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Patricia E Fast
- International AIDS Vaccine Initiative-New York, New York, New York, USA
| | | | - Kundai Chinyenze
- International AIDS Vaccine Initiative-New York, New York, New York, USA
| | - Walter Jaoko
- KAVI-Institute of Clinical Research, University of Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Tomáš Hanke
- Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- International Research Center for Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Japan
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24
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Ishii H, Matsuoka S, Nomura T, Nakamura M, Shiino T, Sato Y, Iwata-Yoshikawa N, Hasegawa H, Mizuta K, Sakawaki H, Miura T, Koyanagi Y, Naruse TK, Kimura A, Matano T. Association of lymph-node antigens with lower Gag-specific central-memory and higher Env-specific effector-memory CD8(+) T-cell frequencies in a macaque AIDS model. Sci Rep 2016; 6:30153. [PMID: 27452272 PMCID: PMC4958968 DOI: 10.1038/srep30153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2016] [Accepted: 06/27/2016] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Virus-specific CD8+ T cells exert strong suppressive pressure on human/simian immunodeficiency virus (HIV/SIV) replication. These responses have been intensively examined in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) but not fully analyzed in lymph nodes (LNs), where interaction between CD8+ T cells and HIV/SIV-infected cells occurs. Here, we investigated target antigen specificity of CD8+ T cells in LNs in a macaque AIDS model. Analysis of virus antigen-specific CD8+ T-cell responses in the inguinal LNs obtained from twenty rhesus macaques in the chronic phase of SIV infection showed an inverse correlation between viral loads and frequencies of CD8+ T cells with CD28+ CD95+ central memory phenotype targeting the N-terminal half of SIV core antigen (Gag-N). In contrast, analysis of LNs but not PBMCs revealed a positive correlation between viral loads and frequencies of CD8+ T cells with CD28−CD95+ effector memory phenotype targeting the N-terminal half of SIV envelope (Env-N), soluble antigen. Indeed, LNs with detectable SIV capsid p27 antigen in the germinal center exhibited significantly lower Gag-N-specific CD28+ CD95+ CD8+ T-cell and higher Env-N-specific CD28−CD95+ CD8+ T-cell responses than those without detectable p27. These results imply that core and envelope antigen-specific CD8+ T cells show different patterns of interactions with HIV/SIV-infected cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiroshi Ishii
- AIDS Research Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo 162-8640, Japan
| | - Saori Matsuoka
- AIDS Research Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo 162-8640, Japan
| | - Takushi Nomura
- AIDS Research Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo 162-8640, Japan.,Center for AIDS Research, Kumamoto University, Tokyo 162-8640, Japan
| | - Midori Nakamura
- AIDS Research Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo 162-8640, Japan
| | - Teiichiro Shiino
- AIDS Research Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo 162-8640, Japan
| | - Yuko Sato
- Department of Pathology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo 162-8640, Japan
| | - Naoko Iwata-Yoshikawa
- Department of Pathology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo 162-8640, Japan
| | - Hideki Hasegawa
- Department of Pathology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo 162-8640, Japan
| | - Kazuta Mizuta
- Institute for Virus Research, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan
| | - Hiromi Sakawaki
- Institute for Virus Research, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan
| | - Tomoyuki Miura
- Institute for Virus Research, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan
| | - Yoshio Koyanagi
- Institute for Virus Research, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan
| | - Taeko K Naruse
- Department of Molecular Pathogenesis, Medical Research Institute, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo 113-8510, Japan
| | - Akinori Kimura
- Department of Molecular Pathogenesis, Medical Research Institute, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo 113-8510, Japan
| | - Tetsuro Matano
- AIDS Research Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo 162-8640, Japan.,The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 108-8639, Japan
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25
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Sun J, Zhao Y, Peng Y, Han Z, Liu G, Qin L, Liu S, Sun H, Wu H, Dong T, Zhang Y. Multiple T-cell responses are associated with better control of acute HIV-1 infection: An observational study. Medicine (Baltimore) 2016; 95:e4429. [PMID: 27472741 PMCID: PMC5265878 DOI: 10.1097/md.0000000000004429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses play pivotal roles in controlling the replication of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), but the correlation between CTL responses and the progression of HIV-1 infection are controversial on account of HIV immune escape mutations driven by CTL pressure were reported.The acute HIV-1-infected patients from Beijing were incorporated into our study to investigate the effects of CTL response on the progression of HIV-1 infection.A longitudinal study was performed on acute HIV-1-infected patients to clarify the kinetic of T-cell responses, the dynamic of escape mutations, as well as the correlation between effective T-cell response and the progression of HIV infection.Seven human leukocyte antigen-B51+ (HLA-B51+) individuals were screened from 105 acute HIV-1 infectors. The detailed kinetic of HLA-B51-restricted CTL responses was described through blood sampling time points including seroconversion, 3 and 6 months after HIV-1 infection in the 7 HLA-B51+ individuals, by using 16 known HLA-B51 restricted epitopes. Pol743-751 (LPPVVAKEI, LI9), Pol283-289 (TAFTIPSI, TI8), and Gag327-3459 (NANPDCKTI, NI9) were identified as 3 dominant epitopes, and ranked as starting with LI9, followed by TI8 and NI9 in the ability to induce T-cell responses. The dynamics of escape mutations in the 3 epitopes were also found with the same order as T-cell response, by using sequencing for viral clones on blood sampling at seroconversion, 3 and 6 months after HIV-1 infection.We use solid evidence to demonstrate the correlation between T-cell response and HIV-1 mutation, and postulate that multiple T-cell responses might benefit the control of HIV-1 infection, especially in acute infection phase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianping Sun
- Beijing You’An Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, PR China
| | - Yan Zhao
- Beijing You’An Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, PR China
| | - Yanchun Peng
- Medical Research Council Human Immunology Unit, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford University, Oxford, UK
| | - Zhen Han
- Beijing You’An Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, PR China
| | - Guihai Liu
- Beijing You’An Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, PR China
| | - Ling Qin
- Beijing You’An Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, PR China
| | - Sai Liu
- Beijing You’An Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, PR China
| | - Huanhuan Sun
- Beijing You’An Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, PR China
| | - Hao Wu
- Beijing You’An Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, PR China
| | - Tao Dong
- Medical Research Council Human Immunology Unit, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford University, Oxford, UK
| | - Yonghong Zhang
- Beijing You’An Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, PR China
- Correspondence: Yonghong Zhang, Beijing Youan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, PR China (e-mail: )
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26
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Ström P, Støer N, Borthwick N, Dong T, Hanke T, Reilly M. A statistical approach to determining responses to individual peptides from pooled-peptide ELISpot data. J Immunol Methods 2016; 435:43-9. [PMID: 27196788 DOI: 10.1016/j.jim.2016.05.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2016] [Revised: 04/27/2016] [Accepted: 05/04/2016] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
To investigate in detail the effect of infection or vaccination on the human immune system, ELISpot assays are used to simultaneously test the immune response to a large number of peptides of interest. Scientists commonly use "peptide pools", where, instead of an individual peptide, a test well contains a group of peptides. Since the response from a well may be due to any or many of the peptides in the pool, pooled assays usually need to be followed by confirmatory assays of a number of individual peptides. We present a statistical method that enables estimation of individual peptide responses from pool responses using the Expectation Maximization (EM) algorithm for "incomplete data". We demonstrate the accuracy and precision of these estimates in simulation studies of ELISpot plates with 90 pools of 6 or 7 peptides arranged in three dimensions and three Mock wells for the estimation of background. In analysis of real pooled data from 6 subjects in a HIV-1 vaccine trial, where 199 peptides were arranged in 80 pools if size 9 or 10, our estimates were in very good agreement with the results from individual-peptide confirmatory assays. Compared to the classical approach, we could identify almost all the same peptides with high or moderate response, with less than half the number of confirmatory tests. Our method facilitates efficient use of the information available in pooled ELISpot data to avoid or reduce the need for confirmatory testing. We provide an easy-to-use free online application for implementing the method, where on uploading two spreadsheets with the pool design and pool responses, the user obtains the estimates of the individual peptide responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Ström
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden
| | - Nathalie Støer
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden
| | | | - Tao Dong
- Weatherall institute of Molecular Medicine, Oxford, UK
| | - Tomáš Hanke
- The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, UK; Weatherall institute of Molecular Medicine, Oxford, UK
| | - Marie Reilly
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden.
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27
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Abdul-Jawad S, Ondondo B, van Hateren A, Gardner A, Elliott T, Korber B, Hanke T. Increased Valency of Conserved-mosaic Vaccines Enhances the Breadth and Depth of Epitope Recognition. Mol Ther 2016; 24:375-384. [PMID: 26581160 PMCID: PMC4817818 DOI: 10.1038/mt.2015.210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2015] [Accepted: 11/09/2015] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The biggest roadblock in development of effective vaccines against human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is the virus genetic diversity. For T-cell vaccine, this can be tackled by focusing the vaccine-elicited T-cells on the highly functionally conserved regions of HIV-1 proteins, mutations in which typically cause a replicative fitness loss, and by computing multivalent mosaic proteins, which maximize the coverage of potential 9-mer T-cell epitopes of the input viral sequences. Our first conserved region vaccines HIVconsv employed clade alternating consensus sequences and showed promise in the initial clinical trials in terms of magnitude and breadth of elicited CD8(+) T-cells. Here, monitoring T-cells restricted by HLA-A*02:01 in transgenic mice, we assessed whether or not the tHIVconsv design (HIVconsv with a tissue plasminogen activator leader sequence) benefits from combining with a complementing conserved mosaic immunogen tHIVcmo, and compared the bivalent immunization to that with trivalent conserved mosaic vaccines. A hierarchy of tHIVconsv ≤ tHIVconsv+tHIVcmo < tCmo1+tCmo2+tCmo3 vaccinations for induction of CD8(+) T-cell responses was observed in terms of recognition of tested peptide variants. Thus, our HLA-A*02:01-restricted epitope data concur with previously published mouse and macaque observations and suggest that even conserved region vaccines benefit from oligovalent mosaic design.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Andy van Hateren
- Faculty of Medicine and Institute for Life Science, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | | | - Tim Elliott
- Faculty of Medicine and Institute for Life Science, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Bette Korber
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Theoretical Biology and Biophysics, Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA; The New Mexico Consortium, Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA
| | - Tomáš Hanke
- The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK; International Research Center for Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan.
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Ahmed T, Borthwick NJ, Gilmour J, Hayes P, Dorrell L, Hanke T. Control of HIV-1 replication in vitro by vaccine-induced human CD8(+) T cells through conserved subdominant Pol epitopes. Vaccine 2016; 34:1215-24. [PMID: 26784683 PMCID: PMC4769096 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2015.12.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2015] [Revised: 09/21/2015] [Accepted: 12/09/2015] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Objective The specificity of CD8+ T cells is critical for early control of founder/transmitted and reactivated HIV-1. To tackle HIV-1 variability and escape, we designed vaccine immunogen HIVconsv assembled from 14 highly conserved regions of mainly Gag and Pol proteins. When administered to HIV-1-negative human volunteers in trial HIV-CORE 002, HIVconsv vaccines elicited CD8+ effector T cells which inhibited replication of up to 8 HIV-1 isolates in autologous CD4+ cells. This inhibition correlated with interferon-γ production in response to Gag and Pol peptide pools, but direct evidence of the inhibitory specificity was missing. Here, we aimed to define through recognition of which epitopes these effectors inhibit HIV-1 replication. Design CD8+ T-cells from the 3 broadest HIV-1 inhibitors out of 23 vaccine recipients were expanded in culture by Gag or Pol peptide restimulation and tested in viral inhibition assay (VIA) using HIV-1 clade B and A isolates. Methods Frozen PBMCs were expanded first using peptide pools from Gag or Pol conserved regions and tested on HIV-1-infected cells in VIA or by individual peptides for their effector functions. Single peptide specificities responsible for inhibition of HIV-1 replication were then confirmed by single-peptide expanded effectors tested on HIV-1-infected cells. Results We formally demonstrated that the vaccine-elicited inhibitory human CD8+ T cells recognized conserved epitopes of both Pol and Gag proteins. We defined 7 minimum epitopes, of which 3 were novel, presumably naturally subdominant. The effectors were oligofunctional producing several cytokines and chemokines and killing peptide-pulsed target cells. Conclusions These results implicate the use of functionally conserved regions of Pol in addition to the widely used Gag for T-cell vaccine design. Proportion of volunteers developing these effectors and their frequency in circulating PBMC are separate issues, which can be addressed, if needed, by more efficient vector and regimen delivery of conserved immunogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tina Ahmed
- The Jenner Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, United Kingdom
| | - Nicola J Borthwick
- The Jenner Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, United Kingdom
| | - Jill Gilmour
- Human Immunology Laboratory, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, London SW10 9NH, United Kingdom; Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Peter Hayes
- Human Immunology Laboratory, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, London SW10 9NH, United Kingdom
| | - Lucy Dorrell
- Human Immunology Laboratory, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, London SW10 9NH, United Kingdom; Nuffield Department of Medicine, NDM Research Building, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7FZ, United Kingdom; Oxford NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Tomáš Hanke
- The Jenner Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, United Kingdom; International Research Center for Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, 2-2-1 Honjo, Chuo-ku, Japan.
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The Immunodominance Change and Protection of CD4+ T-Cell Responses Elicited by an Envelope Protein Domain III-Based Tetravalent Dengue Vaccine in Mice. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0145717. [PMID: 26714037 PMCID: PMC4695087 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0145717] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2015] [Accepted: 11/05/2015] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Dengue is the leading cause of mosquito-borne viral infections and no vaccine is available now. Envelope protein domain III (ED3) is the major target for the binding of dengue virus neutralizing antibodies; however, the ED3-specifc T-cell response is less well understood. To investigate the T-cell responses to four serotypes of dengue virus (DENV-1 to 4), we immunized mice using either a tetravalent ED3-based DNA or protein vaccine, or combined both as a DNA prime-protein boost strategy (prime-boost). A significant serotype-dependent IFN-γ or IL-4 response was observed in mice immunized with either the DNA or protein vaccine. The IFN-γ response was dominant to DENV-1 to 3, whereas the IL-4 response was dominant to DENV-4. Although the similar IgG titers for the four serotypes were observed in mice immunized with the tetravalent vaccines, the neutralizing antibody titers varied and followed the order of 2 = 3>1>4. Interestingly, the lower IFN-γ response to DENV-4 is attributable to the immunodominance change between two CD4+ T-cell epitopes; one T-cell epitope located at E349-363 of DENV-1 to 3 was more immunogenic than the DENV-4 epitope E313-327. Despite DENV-4 specific IFN-γ responses were suppressed by immunodominance change, either DENV-4-specific IFN-γ or neutralizing antibody responses were still recalled after DENV-4 challenge and contributed to virus clearance. Immunization with the prime-boost elicited both IFN-γ and neutralizing antibody responses and provided better protection than either DNA or protein immunization. Our findings shed light on how ED3-based tetravalent dengue vaccines sharpen host CD4 T-cell responses and contribute to protection against dengue virus.
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Yang Y, Sun W, Guo J, Zhao G, Sun S, Yu H, Guo Y, Li J, Jin X, Du L, Jiang S, Kou Z, Zhou Y. In silico design of a DNA-based HIV-1 multi-epitope vaccine for Chinese populations. Hum Vaccin Immunother 2015; 11:795-805. [PMID: 25839222 DOI: 10.1080/21645515.2015.1012017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
The development of an HIV-1 vaccine that is capable of inducing effective and broadly cross-reactive humoral and cellular immune responses remains a challenging task because of the extensive diversity of HIV-1, the difference of virus subtypes (clades) in different geographical regions, and the polymorphism of human leukocyte antigens (HLA). We performed an in silico design of 3 DNA vaccines, designated pJW4303-MEG1, pJW4303-MEG2 and pJW4303-MEG3, encoding multi-epitopes that are highly conserved within the HIV-1 subtypes most prevalent in China and can be recognized through HLA alleles dominant in China. The pJW4303-MEG1-encoded protein consisted of one Th epitope in Env, and one, 2, and 6 epitopes in Pol, Env, and Gag proteins, respectively, with a GGGS linker sequence between epitopes. The pJW4303-MEG2-encoded protein contained similar epitopes in a different order, but with the same linker as pJW4303-MEG1. The pJW4303-MEG3-encoded protein contained the same epitopes in the same order as that of pJW4303-MEG2, but with a different linker sequence (AAY). To evaluate immunogenicity, mice were immunized intramuscularly with these DNA vaccines. Both pJW4303-MEG1 and pJW4303-MEG2 vaccines induced equally potent humoral and cellular immune responses in the vaccinated mice, while pJW4303-MEG3 did not induce immune responses. These results indicate that both epitope and linker sequences are important in designing effective epitope-based vaccines against HIV-1 and other viruses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Yang
- a State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity ; Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology ; Beijing , China
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Gholizadeh M, Khanahmad H, Memarnejadian A, Aghasadeghi MR, Roohvand F, Sadat SM, Cohan RA, Nazemi A, Motevalli F, Asgary V, Arezumand R. Design and expression of fusion protein consists of HBsAg and Polyepitope of HCV as an HCV potential vaccine. Adv Biomed Res 2015; 4:243. [PMID: 26682209 PMCID: PMC4673707 DOI: 10.4103/2277-9175.168610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2014] [Accepted: 03/16/2015] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a serious public health threat worldwide. Cellular immune responses, especially cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTLs), play a critical role in immune response toward the HCV clearance. Since polytope vaccines have the ability to stimulate the cellular immunity, a recombinant fusion protein was developed in this study. MATERIALS AND METHODS The designed fusion protein is composed of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), as an immunocarrier, fused to an HCV polytope sequence. The polytope containing five immunogenic epitopes of HCV was designed to induce specific CTL responses. The construct was cloned into the pET-28a, and its expression was investigated in BL21 (DE3), BL21 pLysS, BL21 pLysE, and BL21 AI Escherichia coli strains using 12% gel sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Finally, the identity of expressed fusion protein was confirmed by Western blotting using anti-His monoclonal antibody and affinity chromatography was applied to purify the expressed protein. RESULTS The accuracy of the construct was confirmed by restriction map analysis and sequencing. The transformation of the construct into the BL21 (DE3), pLysS, and pLysE E. coli strains did not lead to any expression. The fusion protein was found to be toxic for E. coli DE3. By applying two steps inhibition, the fusion protein was successfully expressed in BL21 (AI) E. coli strain. CONCLUSION The HBsAg-polytope fusion protein expressed in this study can be further evaluated for its immunogenicity in animal models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monireh Gholizadeh
- Department of Biology, Islamic Azad University, Tonekabon Branch, Tonekabon, Iran
| | - Hossein Khanahmad
- Department of Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
| | | | | | - Farzin Roohvand
- Department of Hepatitis and AIDS, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Seyed Mehdi Sadat
- Department of Hepatitis and AIDS, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | | | - Ali Nazemi
- Department of Biology, Islamic Azad University, Tonekabon Branch, Tonekabon, Iran
| | - Fatemeh Motevalli
- Department of Hepatitis and AIDS, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Vahid Asgary
- Department Of Rabies, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran ; Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Roghaye Arezumand
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
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Early Kinetics of the HLA Class I-Associated Peptidome of MVA.HIVconsv-Infected Cells. J Virol 2015; 89:5760-71. [PMID: 25810538 PMCID: PMC4442425 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.03627-14] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2014] [Accepted: 03/09/2015] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
UNLABELLED Cytotoxic T cells substantially contribute to the control of intracellular pathogens such as human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). Here, we evaluated the immunopeptidome of Jurkat cells infected with the vaccine candidate MVA.HIVconsv, which delivers HIV-1 conserved antigenic regions by using modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA). We employed liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to identify 6,358 unique peptides associated with the class I human leukocyte antigen (HLA), of which 98 peptides were derived from the MVA vector and 7 were derived from the HIVconsv immunogen. Human vaccine recipients responded to the peptide sequences identified by LC-MS/MS. Peptides derived from the conserved HIV-1 regions were readily detected as early as 1.5 h after MVA.HIVconsv infection. Four of the seven conserved peptides were monitored between 0 and 3.5 h of infection by using quantitative mass spectrometry (Q-MS), and their abundance in HLA class I associations reflected levels of the whole HIVconsv protein in the cell. While immunopeptides delivered by the incoming MVA vector proteins could be detected, all early HIVconsv-derived immunopeptides were likely synthesized de novo. MVA.HIVconsv infection generally altered the composition of HLA class I-associated human (self) peptides, but these changes corresponded only partially to changes in the whole cell host protein abundance. IMPORTANCE The vast changes in cellular antigen presentation after infection of cells with a vectored vaccine, as shown here for MVA.HIVconsv, highlight the complexity of factors that need to be considered for efficient antigen delivery and presentation. Identification and quantitation of HLA class I-associated peptides by Q-MS will not only find broad application in T-cell epitope discovery but also inform vaccine design and allow evaluation of efficient epitope presentation using different delivery strategies.
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Borthwick NJ, Rosario M, Schiffner T, Bowles E, Ahmed T, Liljeström P, Stewart-Jones GE, Drijfhout JW, Melief CJM, Hanke T. Humoral responses to HIVconsv induced by heterologous vaccine modalities in rhesus macaques. IMMUNITY INFLAMMATION AND DISEASE 2015; 3:82-93. [PMID: 26029368 PMCID: PMC4444151 DOI: 10.1002/iid3.52] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2014] [Revised: 01/27/2015] [Accepted: 01/28/2015] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Vaccines delivering T cell immunogen HIVconsv vectored by plasmid DNA, non-replicating simian adenovirus and non-replicating modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) are under clinical evaluation in phase I/IIa trials in UK, Europe, and Africa. While these vaccines aim to induce effector T cell responses specific for HIV-1, we here characterized the humoral responses induced by HIVconsv administration to macaques using six different vaccine modalities: plasmid DNA, human adenovirus serotype 5, simian adenovirus serotype 63, MVA, Semliki Forest virus replicons, and adjuvanted overlapping synthetic long peptides (SLP). We found that only the SLP formulation, but none of the genetic vaccine platforms induced antibodies recognizing linear HIVconsv epitopes, median 32/46 SLP.HIVconsv peptides. These antibodies bound to 15-mer and SLP peptides, recombinant gp120 and trimeric gp140 of HIV-1 Bal, YU2, JRFL, and UG037, but failed to react with HIV-1 Bal and IIIB virions and HIV-1 Bal- and IIIB-infected human cells, and consequently failed to induce neutralizing antibodies. The HIVconsv immunogen contains conserved regions derived from Gag, Pol, Vif, and Env proteins of HIV-1, and antibodies induced by the SLP.HIVconsv vaccination resulted in positive signals in routine HIV-1 tests. Thus, only HIVconsv delivered by SLP resulted in seroconversion, an observation that provides important guidance for recruiting volunteers into future clinical trials. Furthermore, our data confirms that vaccine delivery by SLP induces humoral as well as cellular immune responses and could be considered for inclusion in future vaccine regimens where this is required.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicola J Borthwick
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus Research Building, Roosevelt Drive Oxford, OX3 7DQ, UK
| | - Maximillian Rosario
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, MRC Human Immunology Unit, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, The John Radcliffe Oxford, OX3 9DS, UK
| | - Torben Schiffner
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, The Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road Oxford, OX1 3RE, UK
| | - Emma Bowles
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, MRC Human Immunology Unit, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, The John Radcliffe Oxford, OX3 9DS, UK
| | - Tina Ahmed
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus Research Building, Roosevelt Drive Oxford, OX3 7DQ, UK
| | - Peter Liljeström
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Guillaume E Stewart-Jones
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, MRC Human Immunology Unit, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, The John Radcliffe Oxford, OX3 9DS, UK
| | - Jan W Drijfhout
- Departement of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion, Leiden University Medical Centre Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Cornelis J M Melief
- Departement of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion, Leiden University Medical Centre Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Tomáš Hanke
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus Research Building, Roosevelt Drive Oxford, OX3 7DQ, UK ; Nuffield Department of Medicine, MRC Human Immunology Unit, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, The John Radcliffe Oxford, OX3 9DS, UK
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Morrison WI, Connelley T, Hemmink JD, MacHugh ND. Understanding the Basis of Parasite Strain-Restricted Immunity toTheileria parva. Annu Rev Anim Biosci 2015; 3:397-418. [DOI: 10.1146/annurev-animal-022513-114152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- W. Ivan Morrison
- The Roslin Institute, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Roslin, Midlothian EH25 9RG, United Kingdom;
| | - Timothy Connelley
- The Roslin Institute, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Roslin, Midlothian EH25 9RG, United Kingdom;
| | | | - Niall D. MacHugh
- The Roslin Institute, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Roslin, Midlothian EH25 9RG, United Kingdom;
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Abstract
An effective human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) vaccine is expected to have the greatest impact on HIV-1 spread and remains a global scientific priority. Only one candidate vaccine has significantly reduced HIV-1 acquisition, yet at a limited efficacy of 31%, and none have delayed disease progression in vaccinated individuals. Thus, the challenge remains to develop HIV-1 immunogens that will elicit protective immunity. A combination of two independent approaches - namely the elicitation of broadly neutralising antibodies (bNAb) to prevent or reduce acquisition of infection and stimulation of effective cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses to slow disease progression in breakthrough infections (recent evidence suggests that CTLs could also block HIV-1 from establishing persistent infection) - is the current ideal. The purpose of this review is to summarise strategies and progress in the design and testing of HIV-1 immunogens to elicit bNAb and protective CTL immune responses. Recent advances in mimicking the functional native envelope trimer structure and in designing structurally-stabilised bNAb epitope forms to drive development of germline precursors to mature bNAb are highlighted. Systematic or computational approaches to T cell immunogen design aimed at covering viral diversity, increasing the breadth of immune responses and/or reducing viable viral escape are discussed. We also discuss a recent novel vaccine vector approach shown to induce extremely broad and persistent T cell responses that could clear highly pathogenic simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) early after infection in the monkey model. While in vitro and animal model data are promising, Phase II and III human clinical trials are ultimately needed to determine the efficacy of immunogen design approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaclyn K Mann
- />HIV Pathogenesis Programme, University of KwaZulu-Natal, 719 Umbilo Road, Durban, 4001 South Africa
- />KwaZulu-Natal Research Institute for Tuberculosis and HIV, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 4001 South Africa
| | - Thumbi Ndung’u
- />HIV Pathogenesis Programme, University of KwaZulu-Natal, 719 Umbilo Road, Durban, 4001 South Africa
- />KwaZulu-Natal Research Institute for Tuberculosis and HIV, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 4001 South Africa
- />Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02139 USA
- />Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Chariteplatz, D-10117 Berlin, Germany
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36
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Seyed N, Taheri T, Vauchy C, Dosset M, Godet Y, Eslamifar A, Sharifi I, Adotevi O, Borg C, Rohrlich PS, Rafati S. Immunogenicity evaluation of a rationally designed polytope construct encoding HLA-A*0201 restricted epitopes derived from Leishmania major related proteins in HLA-A2/DR1 transgenic mice: steps toward polytope vaccine. PLoS One 2014; 9:e108848. [PMID: 25310094 PMCID: PMC4195657 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0108848] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2014] [Accepted: 08/22/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Background There are several reports demonstrating the role of CD8 T cells against Leishmania species. Therefore peptide vaccine might represent an effective approach to control the infection. We developed a rational polytope-DNA construct encoding immunogenic HLA-A2 restricted peptides and validated the processing and presentation of encoded epitopes in a preclinical mouse model humanized for the MHC-class-I and II. Methods and Findings HLA-A*0201 restricted epitopes from LPG-3, LmSTI-1, CPB and CPC along with H-2Kd restricted peptides, were lined-up together as a polytope string in a DNA construct. Polytope string was rationally designed by harnessing advantages of ubiquitin, spacers and HLA-DR restricted Th1 epitope. Endotoxin free pcDNA plasmid expressing the polytope was inoculated into humanized HLA-DRB1*0101/HLA-A*0201 transgenic mice intramuscularly 4 days after Cardiotoxin priming followed by 2 boosters at one week interval. Mice were sacrificed 10 days after the last booster, and splenocytes were subjected to ex-vivo and in-vitro evaluation of specific IFN-γ production and in-vitro cytotoxicity against individual peptides by ELISpot and standard chromium-51(51Cr) release assay respectively. 4 H-2Kd and 5 HLA-A*0201 restricted peptides were able to induce specific CD8 T cell responses in BALB/C and HLA-A2/DR1 mice respectively. IFN-γ and cytolytic activity together discriminated LPG-3-P1 as dominant, LmSTI-1-P3 and LmSTI-1-P6 as subdominant with both cytolytic activity and IFN-γ production, LmSTI-1-P4 and LPG-3-P5 as subdominant with only IFN-γ production potential. Conclusions Here we described a new DNA-polytope construct for Leishmania vaccination encompassing immunogenic HLA-A2 restricted peptides. Immunogenicity evaluation in HLA-transgenic model confirmed CD8 T cell induction with expected affinities and avidities showing almost efficient processing and presentation of the peptides in relevant preclinical model. Further evaluation will determine the efficacy of this polytope construct protecting against infectious challenge of Leishmania. Fortunately HLA transgenic mice are promising preclinical models helping to speed up immunogenicity analysis in a human related mouse model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Negar Seyed
- Molecular Immunology and Vaccine Research Lab, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Tahereh Taheri
- Molecular Immunology and Vaccine Research Lab, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Charline Vauchy
- INSERM U1098, Unité Mixte de Recherche, Besançon, France
- Etablissement Français du Sang de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, Besançon, France
- Université de Franche-Comté, Besançon, France
| | - Magalie Dosset
- INSERM U1098, Unité Mixte de Recherche, Besançon, France
- Etablissement Français du Sang de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, Besançon, France
- Université de Franche-Comté, Besançon, France
| | - Yann Godet
- INSERM U1098, Unité Mixte de Recherche, Besançon, France
- Etablissement Français du Sang de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, Besançon, France
- Université de Franche-Comté, Besançon, France
| | - Ali Eslamifar
- Department of Electron Microscopy and Clinical Research, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Iraj Sharifi
- School of Medicine, Leishmaniasis Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
| | - Olivier Adotevi
- INSERM U1098, Unité Mixte de Recherche, Besançon, France
- Etablissement Français du Sang de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, Besançon, France
- Université de Franche-Comté, Besançon, France
- CHRU de Besançon, Service d′Oncologie, Besançon, France
| | - Christophe Borg
- INSERM U1098, Unité Mixte de Recherche, Besançon, France
- Etablissement Français du Sang de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, Besançon, France
- Université de Franche-Comté, Besançon, France
- CHRU de Besançon, Service d′Oncologie, Besançon, France
| | - Pierre Simon Rohrlich
- INSERM U1098, Unité Mixte de Recherche, Besançon, France
- Etablissement Français du Sang de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, Besançon, France
- Université de Franche-Comté, Besançon, France
- CHRU de Besançon, Service de pédiatrie, Besançon, France
| | - Sima Rafati
- Molecular Immunology and Vaccine Research Lab, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
- * E-mail:
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Piazza P, Campbell D, Marques E, Hildebrand WH, Buchli R, Mailliard R, Rinaldo CR. Dengue virus-infected human dendritic cells reveal hierarchies of naturally expressed novel NS3 CD8 T cell epitopes. Clin Exp Immunol 2014; 177:696-702. [PMID: 24816171 DOI: 10.1111/cei.12373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/06/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Detailed knowledge of dengue virus (DENV) cell-mediated immunity is limited. In this study we characterize CD8(+) T lymphocytes recognizing three novel and two known non-structural protein 3 peptide epitopes in DENV-infected dendritic cells. Three epitopes displayed high conservation (75-100%), compared to the others (0-50%). A hierarchy ranking based on magnitude and polyfunctionality of the antigen-specific response showed that dominant epitopes were both highly conserved and cross-reactive against multiple DENV serotypes. These results are relevant to DENV pathogenesis and vaccine design.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Piazza
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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Characterization of T-cell responses to conserved regions of the HIV-1 proteome in BALB/c mice. CLINICAL AND VACCINE IMMUNOLOGY : CVI 2014; 21:1565-72. [PMID: 25230940 PMCID: PMC4248756 DOI: 10.1128/cvi.00587-14] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
A likely requirement for a protective vaccine against human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)/AIDS is, in addition to eliciting antibody responses, induction of effective T cells. To tackle HIV-1 diversity by T-cell vaccines, we designed an immunogen, HIVconsv, derived from the most functionally conserved regions of the HIV-1 proteome and demonstrated its high immunogenicity in humans and rhesus macaques when delivered by regimens combining plasmid DNA, nonreplicating simian (chimpanzee) adenovirus ChAdV-63, and nonreplicating modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) as vectors. Here, we aimed to increase the decision power for iterative improvements of this vaccine strategy in the BALB/c mouse model. First, we found that prolonging the period after the ChAdV63.HIVconsv prime up to 6 weeks increased the frequencies of HIV-1-specific, gamma interferon (IFN-γ)-producing T cells induced by the MVA.HIVconsv boost. Induction of strong responses allowed us to map comprehensively the H-2d-restricted T-cell responses to these regions and identified 8 HIVconsv peptides, of which three did not contain a previously described epitope and were therefore considered novel. Induced effector T cells were oligofunctional and lysed sensitized targets in vitro. Our study therefore provides additional tools for studying and optimizing vaccine regimens in this commonly used small animal model, which will in turn guide vaccine improvements in more expensive nonhuman primate and human clinical trials.
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Mechanisms of HIV protein degradation into epitopes: implications for vaccine design. Viruses 2014; 6:3271-92. [PMID: 25196483 PMCID: PMC4147695 DOI: 10.3390/v6083271] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2014] [Revised: 08/06/2014] [Accepted: 08/11/2014] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
The degradation of HIV-derived proteins into epitopes displayed by MHC-I or MHC-II are the first events leading to the priming of HIV-specific immune responses and to the recognition of infected cells. Despite a wealth of information about peptidases involved in protein degradation, our knowledge of epitope presentation during HIV infection remains limited. Here we review current data on HIV protein degradation linking epitope production and immunodominance, viral evolution and impaired epitope presentation. We propose that an in-depth understanding of HIV antigen processing and presentation in relevant primary cells could be exploited to identify signatures leading to efficient or inefficient epitope presentation in HIV proteomes, and to improve the design of immunogens eliciting immune responses efficiently recognizing all infected cells.
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Martins MA, Wilson NA, Piaskowski SM, Weisgrau KL, Furlott JR, Bonaldo MC, Veloso de Santana MG, Rudersdorf RA, Rakasz EG, Keating KD, Chiuchiolo MJ, Piatak M, Allison DB, Parks CL, Galler R, Lifson JD, Watkins DI. Vaccination with Gag, Vif, and Nef gene fragments affords partial control of viral replication after mucosal challenge with SIVmac239. J Virol 2014; 88:7493-516. [PMID: 24741098 PMCID: PMC4054456 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.00601-14] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2014] [Accepted: 04/14/2014] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
UNLABELLED Broadly targeted cellular immune responses are thought to be important for controlling replication of human and simian immunodeficiency viruses (HIV and SIV). However, eliciting such responses by vaccination is complicated by immunodominance, the preferential targeting of only a few of the many possible epitopes of a given antigen. This phenomenon may be due to the coexpression of dominant and subdominant epitopes by the same antigen-presenting cell and may be overcome by distributing these sequences among several different vaccine constructs. Accordingly, we tested whether vaccinating rhesus macaques with "minigenes" encoding fragments of Gag, Vif, and Nef resulted in broadened cellular responses capable of controlling SIV replication. We delivered these minigenes through combinations of recombinant Mycobacterium bovis BCG (rBCG), electroporated recombinant DNA (rDNA) along with an interleukin-12 (IL-12)-expressing plasmid (EP rDNA plus pIL-12), yellow fever vaccine virus 17D (rYF17D), and recombinant adenovirus serotype 5 (rAd5). Although priming with EP rDNA plus pIL-12 increased the breadth of vaccine-induced T-cell responses, this effect was likely due to the improved antigen delivery afforded by electroporation rather than modulation of immunodominance. Indeed, Mamu-A*01(+) vaccinees mounted CD8(+) T cells directed against only one subdominant epitope, regardless of the vaccination regimen. After challenge with SIVmac239, vaccine efficacy was limited to a modest reduction in set point in some of the groups and did not correlate with standard T-cell measurements. These findings suggest that broad T-cell responses elicited by conventional vectors may not be sufficient to substantially contain AIDS virus replication. IMPORTANCE Immunodominance poses a major obstacle to the generation of broadly targeted, HIV-specific cellular responses by vaccination. Here we attempted to circumvent this phenomenon and thereby broaden the repertoire of SIV-specific cellular responses by vaccinating rhesus macaques with minigenes encoding fragments of Gag, Vif, and Nef. In contrast to previous mouse studies, this strategy appeared to minimally affect monkey CD8(+) T-cell immundominance hierarchies, as seen by the detection of only one subdominant epitope in Mamu-A*01(+) vaccinees. This finding underscores the difficulty of inducing subdominant CD8(+) T cells by vaccination and demonstrates that strategies other than gene fragmentation may be required to significantly alter immunodominance in primates. Although some of the regimens tested here were extremely immunogenic, vaccine efficacy was limited to a modest reduction in set point viremia after challenge with SIVmac239. No correlates of protection were identified. These results reinforce the notion that vaccine immunogenicity does not predict control of AIDS virus replication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mauricio A Martins
- Department of Pathology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, USA
| | - Nancy A Wilson
- Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Shari M Piaskowski
- Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Kim L Weisgrau
- Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Jessica R Furlott
- Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Myrna C Bonaldo
- Laboratório de Biologia Molecular de Flavivírus, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | | | - Richard A Rudersdorf
- Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Eva G Rakasz
- Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Karen D Keating
- Section on Statistical Genetics, Department of Biostatistics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
| | - Maria J Chiuchiolo
- International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, AIDS Vaccine Design and Development Laboratory, Brooklyn Army Terminal, Brooklyn, New York, USA
| | - Michael Piatak
- AIDS and Cancer Virus Program, Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc., Frederick National Laboratory, Frederick, Maryland, USA
| | - David B Allison
- Section on Statistical Genetics, Department of Biostatistics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
| | - Christopher L Parks
- International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, AIDS Vaccine Design and Development Laboratory, Brooklyn Army Terminal, Brooklyn, New York, USA
| | - Ricardo Galler
- Instituto de Tecnologia em Imunobiológicos, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Jeffrey D Lifson
- AIDS and Cancer Virus Program, Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc., Frederick National Laboratory, Frederick, Maryland, USA
| | - David I Watkins
- Department of Pathology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, USA
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Cárdenas Sierra D, Vélez Colmenares G, Orfao de Matos A, Fiorentino Gómez S, Quijano Gómez SM. Age-associated Epstein-Barr virus-specific T cell responses in seropositive healthy adults. Clin Exp Immunol 2014; 177:320-32. [PMID: 24666437 PMCID: PMC4089182 DOI: 10.1111/cei.12337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/20/2014] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is present in 95% of the world's adult population. The immune response participates in immune vigilance and persistent infection control, and this condition is maintained by both a good quality (functionality) and quantity of specific T cells throughout life. In the present study, we evaluated EBV-specific CD4(+) and CD8(+) T lymphocyte responses in seropositive healthy individuals younger and older than 50 years of age. The assessment comprised the frequency, phenotype, functionality and clonotypic distribution of T lymphocytes. We found that in both age groups a similar EBV-specific T cell response was found, with overlapping numbers of tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α(+) T lymphocytes (CD4(+) and CD8(+)) within the memory and effector cell compartments, in addition to monofunctional and multi-functional T cells producing interleukin (IL)-2 and/or interferon (IFN)-γ. However, individuals aged more than 50 years showed significantly higher frequencies of IL-2-producing CD4(+) T lymphocytes in association with greater production of soluble IFN-γ, TNF-α and IL-6 than subjects younger than 50 years. A polyclonal T cell receptor (TCR)-variable beta region (Vβ) repertoire exists in both age groups under basal conditions and in response to EBV; the major TCR families found in TNF-α(+) /CD4(+) T lymphocytes were Vβ1, Vβ2, Vβ17 and Vβ22 in both age groups, and the major TCR family in TNF-α(+) /CD8(+) T cells was Vβ13·1 for individuals younger than 50 years and Vβ9 for individuals aged more than 50 years. Our findings suggest that the EBV-specific T cell response (using a polyclonal stimulation model) is distributed throughout several T cell differentiation compartments in an age-independent manner and includes both monofunctional and multi-functional T lymphocytes.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Cárdenas Sierra
- Grupo de Inmunobiología y Biología Celular, Departamento de Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia
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Enhanced human immunodeficiency virus Type 1 expression and neuropathogenesis in knockout mice lacking Type I interferon responses. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol 2014; 73:59-71. [PMID: 24335529 PMCID: PMC3871403 DOI: 10.1097/nen.0000000000000026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The roles of Type I interferon (IFN) in human immunodeficiency virus Type 1 (HIV-1) neuropathogenesis are poorly understood; both protective and deleterious effects of IFN signaling have been described. We used genetically modified mice deficient in the Type I IFN receptor (IFNRKO) to analyze the progress of HIV-1 brain infection and neuropathogenesis in the absence of IFN signaling. IFNRKO and wild-type (WT) mice on the 129xSv/Ev or C57BL/6 strain backgrounds were infected systemically with EcoHIV, a chimeric HIV-1 that productively infects mice. IFNRKO mice showed higher HIV-1 expression in spleen and peritoneal macrophages and greater virus infiltration into the brain compared to WT mice. Neuropathogenesis was studied by histopathological, immunohistochemical, immunofluorescence, and polymerase chain reaction analyses of brain tissues after the virus was inoculated into the brain by stereotaxic intracerebral injection. Both IFNRKO and WT mice showed readily detectable HIV-1 and brain lesions, including microglial activation, astrocytosis, and increased expression of genes coding for inflammatory cytokines and chemokines typical of human HIV-1 brain disease. Parameters of HIV-1 neuropathogenesis, including HIV-1 expression in microglia/macrophages, were significantly greater in IFNRKO than in WT mice. Our results show unequivocally that Type I IFN signaling and responses limit HIV-1 infection and pathogenesis in the brains of mice.
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Cain BT, Pham NH, Budde ML, Greene JM, Weinfurter JT, Scarlotta M, Harris M, Chin E, O'Connor SL, Friedrich TC, O'Connor DH. T cell response specificity and magnitude against SIVmac239 are not concordant in major histocompatibility complex-matched animals. Retrovirology 2013; 10:116. [PMID: 24156675 PMCID: PMC3874790 DOI: 10.1186/1742-4690-10-116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2013] [Accepted: 10/10/2013] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Background CD8+ T cell responses, restricted by major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules, are critical to controlling human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) replication. Previous studies have used MHC-matched siblings and monozygotic twins to evaluate genetic and stochastic influences on HIV-specific T cell responses and viral evolution. Here we used a genetically restricted population of Mauritian cynomolgus macaques (MCM) to characterize T cell responses within nine pairs of MHC-matched animals. Findings In MHC-matched animals, there was considerable heterogeneity in the specificity and magnitude of T cell responses detected via individual peptide gamma interferon (IFN-γ) enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assays. These findings were further supported by full proteome pooled peptide matrix ELISPOT data collected from this cohort at 52 weeks post-infection. Interestingly, peptide regions that elicited dominant T cell responses were more commonly shared between MHC-matched MCM than peptide regions that elicited non-dominant T cell responses. Conclusions Our findings suggest that, while some T cell responses mounted during chronic infection by MHC-matched MCM are similar, the majority of responses are highly variable. Shared responses detected in this study between MHC-matched MCM were directed against epitopes that had previously elicited relatively dominant responses in MCM with the same MHC class I haplotype, suggesting that the factors that influence dominance may influence the reproducibility of responses as well. This may be an important consideration for future T cell-based vaccines aiming to consistently and reproducibly elicit protective T cell responses.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - David H O'Connor
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
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Discovery of a protective Rickettsia prowazekii antigen recognized by CD8+ T cells, RP884, using an in vivo screening platform. PLoS One 2013; 8:e76253. [PMID: 24146844 PMCID: PMC3797808 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0076253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2013] [Accepted: 08/22/2013] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Rickettsia prowazekii has been tested for biological warfare due to the high mortality that it produces after aerosol transmission of very low numbers of rickettsiae. Epidemic typhus, the infection caused by these obligately intracellular bacteria, continues to be a threat because it is difficult to diagnose due to initial non-specific symptoms and the lack of commercial diagnostic tests that are sensitive and specific during the initial clinical presentation. A vaccine to prevent epidemic typhus would constitute an effective deterrent to the weaponization of R. prowazekii; however, an effective and safe vaccine is not currently available. Due to the cytoplasmic niche of Rickettsia, CD8+ T-cells are critical effectors of immunity; however, the identification of antigens recognized by these cells has not been systematically addressed. To help close this gap, we designed an antigen discovery strategy that uses cell-based vaccination with antigen presenting cells expressing microbe's proteins targeted to the MHC class I presentation pathway. We report the use of this method to discover a protective T-cell rickettsial antigen, RP884, among a test subset of rickettsial proteins.
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Hadas E, Chao W, He H, Saini M, Daley E, Saifuddin M, Bentsman G, Ganz E, Volsky DJ, Potash MJ. Transmission of chimeric HIV by mating in conventional mice: prevention by pre-exposure antiretroviral therapy and reduced susceptibility during estrus. Dis Model Mech 2013; 6:1292-8. [PMID: 23886803 PMCID: PMC3759349 DOI: 10.1242/dmm.012617] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Heterosexual transmission accounts for the majority of new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cases worldwide. The current approach to investigate HIV heterosexual transmission in animals involves application of virus stock to the vaginal surface, a method that does not reproduce the physiological conditions of vaginal intercourse that influence the rate of transmission. We have previously described efficient infection of conventional mice using EcoHIV/NL4-3 and EcoHIV/NDK, chimeric HIV molecular clones constructed to express all HIV structural and regulatory genes except envelope, which is replaced by a rodent-tropic envelope gene. Here we investigated whether EcoHIV/NDK-infected male mice transmit virus to females during coitus, and the sensitivity of this transmission to HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis and the estrus state. Our general approach was to allow mating between EcoHIV/NDK-infected male mice and uninfected females for 1–7 nights. At 1–6 weeks after mating, mice were euthanized and virus burdens were measured by quantitative PCR (qPCR) amplification of HIV RNA or DNA in peritoneal macrophages, inguinal lymph node cells, spleen cells or vas deferens, or by ELISA for antibodies to HIV Gag. We found that 70–100% of female mice mated to EcoHIV/NDK-infected males acquired infection. Pericoital treatment of females with either 2′,3′-dideoxcytidine (ddC) or tenofovir largely prevented their EcoHIV/NDK infection by mating (P<0.05 and P<0.003, respectively). In males, T cells were dispensable for virus transmission. The rate of EcoHIV/NDK sexual transmission to females in estrus declined sharply (P=0.003) but their infection by injection was unaffected, indicating that the local environment in the female reproductive tract influences susceptibility to HIV. We conclude that this system of EcoHIV/NDK transmission during mouse mating reproduces key features of heterosexual transmission of HIV in humans and can be used to investigate its biology and control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eran Hadas
- Molecular Virology Division, St Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY 10019, USA
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Ondondo B, Brennan C, Nicosia A, Crome SJ, Hanke T. Absence of systemic toxicity changes following intramuscular administration of novel pSG2.HIVconsv DNA, ChAdV63.HIVconsv and MVA.HIVconsv vaccines to BALB/c mice. Vaccine 2013; 31:5594-601. [PMID: 23831324 PMCID: PMC3898262 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2013.06.068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2013] [Revised: 04/26/2013] [Accepted: 06/20/2013] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Three novel vaccines were tested in 2 GLP toxicity studies in BALB/c mice. Vaccines were vectored by DNA, simian adenovirus and modified vaccinia virus Ankara. All 3 vaccines expressed the same conserved regions of HIV-1. Intramuscular administration had no systemic toxicity. All changes were consistent with i.m. delivery and immune response induction.
Background The systemic toxicity of three candidate HIV-1 vaccines plasmid pSG2.HIVconsv DNA (D), ChAdV63.HIVconsv (C) and MVA.HIVconsv (M) expressing chimeric immunogen derived from the most conserved regions of the HIV-1 proteome was evaluated in two repeat-dose studies in the male and female BALB/c mice. Methods In study UNO011, mice received three doses of 2 × 107 plaque-forming units of MVA.HIVconsv vaccine (MMM). In study UNO012, mice received 3 doses of 50 μg of pSG2.HIVconsv DNA followed by a single dose of 5.95 × 109 virus particles of ChAdV63.HIVconsv vaccine (DDDC). Similarly constituted control groups received the vehicle alone (phosphate buffered saline) at the same volume-dose. All vaccines were administered by intramuscular needle injection into the right hind limb at 14-day intervals and animals were sacrificed 7 days after the last dose. Assessment of local and systemic toxicity was made. Induction of HIV-1-specific responses was confirmed. Parameters assessed included clinical condition, body weight, food consumption, ophthalmoscopy, haematology, blood chemistry, organ weight and macroscopic and microscopic pathology. Results In both studies, treatment with the candidate vaccines elicited strong HIV-1-specific T-cell responses. The vaccine treatment was well-tolerated without any adverse systemic toxicological changes. The local toxicity findings observed in these studies were consistent with the predicted response to a vaccine/substance administration by intramuscular injection. Conclusions The three novel anti-HIV-1 vaccines were well tolerated when administered by intramuscular injection to BALB/c mice. These results supported an application for authorisation by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency of the UK to test these vaccines for the first time in phase I clinical trials in healthy both uninfected subjects and HIV-1-infected patients stable on antiretroviral treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beatrice Ondondo
- The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus Research Building, Roosevelt Drive, Oxford OX3 7DQ, United Kingdom
| | | | | | - Steven J. Crome
- Huntington Life Sciences, Huntington PE28 4HS, United Kingdom
| | - Tomáš Hanke
- The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus Research Building, Roosevelt Drive, Oxford OX3 7DQ, United Kingdom
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +44 (0) 1865 617630; fax: +44 (0) 1865 617608.
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Mann JFS, McKay PF, Arokiasamy S, Patel RK, Klein K, Shattock RJ. Pulmonary delivery of DNA vaccine constructs using deacylated PEI elicits immune responses and protects against viral challenge infection. J Control Release 2013; 170:452-9. [PMID: 23774102 PMCID: PMC3767111 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2013.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2013] [Revised: 06/04/2013] [Accepted: 06/06/2013] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Vaccination through mucosal surfaces has been shown to elicit antiviral immune responses against a number of mucosal pathogens. Here we demonstrate that both mucosal and systemic immune responses can be elicited against a model HIV-1 CN54gp140 antigen when cation-complexed plasmid DNA vaccines are applied topically to the murine pulmonary mucosa as an immune priming strategy. Furthermore, using an influenza challenge model we show that a plasmid DNA vaccine complexed to a less toxic form of PEI called dPEI (a nearly fully hydrolysed linear PEI with 11% additional free protonatable nitrogen atoms) can provide significant protection against a respiratory challenge infection in mice. Furthermore, we show that dPEI polyplexes have the potential to transfect not only mucosal epithelium, but also to enter deeper into tissues through the modulation of tight junction integrity. Taken together, these results demonstrate that less toxic forms of PEI can be effective delivery vehicles for plasmid DNAs to elicit cellular and humoral protective responses in vivo. Moreover, our observations suggest that these less toxic derivatives of PEI could be utilised for topical plasmid DNA vaccine delivery to human mucosal tissue surfaces, and that this application may permit dissemination of the immune responses through the linked mucosal network thus providing protective immunity at distal portals of pathogen entry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jamie F S Mann
- Imperial College London, Department of Infectious Diseases, Division of Medicine, Norfolk Place, London W2 1PG, UK.
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Martins MA, Bonaldo MC, Rudersdorf RA, Piaskowski SM, Rakasz EG, Weisgrau KL, Furlott JR, Eernisse CM, Veloso de Santana MG, Hidalgo B, Friedrich TC, Chiuchiolo MJ, Parks CL, Wilson NA, Allison DB, Galler R, Watkins DI. Immunogenicity of seven new recombinant yellow fever viruses 17D expressing fragments of SIVmac239 Gag, Nef, and Vif in Indian rhesus macaques. PLoS One 2013; 8:e54434. [PMID: 23336000 PMCID: PMC3545953 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0054434] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2012] [Accepted: 12/11/2012] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
An effective vaccine remains the best solution to stop the spread of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Cellular immune responses have been repeatedly associated with control of viral replication and thus may be an important element of the immune response that must be evoked by an efficacious vaccine. Recombinant viral vectors can induce potent T-cell responses. Although several viral vectors have been developed to deliver HIV genes, only a few have been advanced for clinical trials. The live-attenuated yellow fever vaccine virus 17D (YF17D) has many properties that make it an attractive vector for AIDS vaccine regimens. YF17D is well tolerated in humans and vaccination induces robust T-cell responses that persist for years. Additionally, methods to manipulate the YF17D genome have been established, enabling the generation of recombinant (r)YF17D vectors carrying genes from unrelated pathogens. Here, we report the generation of seven new rYF17D viruses expressing fragments of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)mac239 Gag, Nef, and Vif. Studies in Indian rhesus macaques demonstrated that these live-attenuated vectors replicated in vivo, but only elicited low levels of SIV-specific cellular responses. Boosting with recombinant Adenovirus type-5 (rAd5) vectors resulted in robust expansion of SIV-specific CD8+ T-cell responses, particularly those targeting Vif. Priming with rYF17D also increased the frequency of CD4+ cellular responses in rYF17D/rAd5-immunized macaques compared to animals that received rAd5 only. The effect of the rYF17D prime on the breadth of SIV-specific T-cell responses was limited and we also found evidence that some rYF17D vectors were more effective than others at priming SIV-specific T-cell responses. Together, our data suggest that YF17D – a clinically relevant vaccine vector – can be used to prime AIDS virus-specific T-cell responses in heterologous prime boost regimens. However, it will be important to optimize rYF17D-based vaccine regimens to ensure maximum delivery of all immunogens in a multivalent vaccine.
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MESH Headings
- AIDS Vaccines/genetics
- AIDS Vaccines/immunology
- Animals
- CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes/immunology
- Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte/immunology
- Female
- Gene Order
- Gene Products, gag/genetics
- Gene Products, gag/immunology
- Gene Products, nef/genetics
- Gene Products, nef/immunology
- Gene Products, vif/genetics
- Gene Products, vif/immunology
- Genetic Vectors/genetics
- Humans
- Immunization
- Immunization, Secondary
- Kinetics
- Macaca mulatta
- Male
- Simian Immunodeficiency Virus/genetics
- Simian Immunodeficiency Virus/immunology
- T-Lymphocytes/immunology
- Vaccines, Synthetic/genetics
- Vaccines, Synthetic/immunology
- Virus Replication
- Yellow fever virus/genetics
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Affiliation(s)
- Mauricio A. Martins
- Department of Pathology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, United States of America
| | - Myrna C. Bonaldo
- Laboratório de Biologia Molecular de Flavivírus, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz – FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Richard A. Rudersdorf
- Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Shari M. Piaskowski
- Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Eva G. Rakasz
- Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Kim L. Weisgrau
- Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Jessica R. Furlott
- Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Christopher M. Eernisse
- Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | | | - Bertha Hidalgo
- Section on Statistical Genetics, Department of Biostatistics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, United States of America
| | - Thomas C. Friedrich
- Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Maria J. Chiuchiolo
- International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, AIDS Vaccine Design and Development Laboratory, Brooklyn Army Terminal, Brooklyn, New York, United States of America
| | - Christopher L. Parks
- International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, AIDS Vaccine Design and Development Laboratory, Brooklyn Army Terminal, Brooklyn, New York, United States of America
| | - Nancy A. Wilson
- Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - David B. Allison
- Section on Statistical Genetics, Department of Biostatistics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, United States of America
| | - Ricardo Galler
- Laboratório de Biologia Molecular de Flavivírus, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz – FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - David I. Watkins
- Department of Pathology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Valbuena G, Walker DH. Approaches to vaccines against Orientia tsutsugamushi. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2013; 2:170. [PMID: 23316486 PMCID: PMC3539663 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2012.00170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2012] [Accepted: 12/14/2012] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Scrub typhus is a severe mite-borne infection caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi, an obligately intracellular bacterium closely related to Rickettsia. The disease explains a substantial proportion of acute undifferentiated febrile cases that require hospitalization in rural areas of Asia, the North of Australia, and many islands of the Pacific Ocean. Delayed antibiotic treatment is common due to the lack of effective commercially available diagnostic tests and the lack of specificity of the early clinical presentation. The systemic infection of endothelial cells that line the vasculature with Orientia can lead to many complications and fatalities. In survivors, immunity does not last long, and is poorly cross-reactive among numerous strains. In addition, chronic infections are established in an unknown number of patients. All those characteristics justify the pursuit of a prophylactic vaccine against O. tsutsugamushi; however, despite continuous efforts to develop such a vaccine since World War II, the objective has not been attained. In this review, we discuss the history of vaccine development against Orientia to provide a clear picture of the challenges that we continue to face from the perspective of animal models and the immunological challenges posed by an intracellular bacterium that normally triggers a short-lived immune response. We finish with a proposal for development of an effective and safe vaccine for scrub typhus through a new approach with a strong focus on T cell-mediated immunity, empirical testing of the immunogenicity of proteins encoded by conserved genes, and assessment of protection in relevant animal models that truly mimic human scrub typhus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gustavo Valbuena
- Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch Galveston, TX, USA.
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Benlahrech A, Meiser A, Herath S, Papagatsias T, Athanasopoulos T, Li F, Self S, Bachy V, Hervouet C, Logan K, Klavinskis L, Dickson G, Patterson S. Fragmentation of SIV-gag vaccine induces broader T cell responses. PLoS One 2012; 7:e48038. [PMID: 23118924 PMCID: PMC3485275 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0048038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2012] [Accepted: 09/20/2012] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Background High mutation rates of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) allows escape from T cell recognition preventing development of effective T cell vaccines. Vaccines that induce diverse T cell immune responses would help overcome this problem. Using SIV gag as a model vaccine, we investigated two approaches to increase the breadth of the CD8 T cell response. Namely, fusion of vaccine genes to ubiquitin to target the proteasome and increase levels of MHC class I peptide complexes and gene fragmentation to overcome competition between epitopes for presentation and recognition. Methodology/Principal Findings Three vaccines were compared: full-length unmodified SIV-mac239 gag, full-length gag fused at the N-terminus to ubiquitin and 7 gag fragments of equal size spanning the whole of gag with ubiquitin-fused to the N-terminus of each fragment. Genes were cloned into a replication defective adenovirus vector and immunogenicity assessed in an in vitro human priming system. The breadth of the CD8 T cell response, defined by the number of distinct epitopes, was assessed by IFN-γ-ELISPOT and memory phenotype and cytokine production evaluated by flow cytometry. We observed an increase of two- to six-fold in the number of epitopes recognised in the ubiquitin-fused fragments compared to the ubiquitin-fused full-length gag. In contrast, although proteasomal targeting was achieved, there was a marked reduction in the number of epitopes recognised in the ubiquitin-fused full-length gag compared to the full-length unmodified gene, but there were no differences in the number of epitope responses induced by non-ubiquitinated full-length gag and the ubiquitin-fused mini genes. Fragmentation and ubiquitination did not affect T cell memory differentiation and polyfunctionality, though most responses were directed against the Ad5 vector. Conclusion/Significance Fragmentation but not fusion with ubiquitin increases the breadth of the CD8 T vaccine response against SIV-mac239 gag. Thus gene fragmentation of HIV vaccines may maximise responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adel Benlahrech
- Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London, United Kingdom
| | - Andrea Meiser
- Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London, United Kingdom
| | - Shanthi Herath
- Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London, United Kingdom
| | - Timos Papagatsias
- Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London, United Kingdom
| | - Takis Athanasopoulos
- School of Biological Science, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, United Kingdom
| | - Fucheng Li
- Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Steve Self
- Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Veronique Bachy
- Peter Gorer Department of Immunobiology, Guys Hospital, Kings College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Catherine Hervouet
- Peter Gorer Department of Immunobiology, Guys Hospital, Kings College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Karen Logan
- Department of Immunology, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Linda Klavinskis
- Peter Gorer Department of Immunobiology, Guys Hospital, Kings College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - George Dickson
- School of Biological Science, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, United Kingdom
| | - Steven Patterson
- Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
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